A Pokemon Christmas Story
by MastermindMedley10
Summary: Professor Oak has just faced a terrible event & is at his house having to go through the Christmas season alone. Depression overtakes him he's not eating, sleeping and there is even no Annual Oak Christmas Bash. Can Misty help him & what else is in store?
1. Chapter 1: A Much Needed Guest

I don't own Pokemon...wish I did...yada, yada, yada...Ok, so, I know what you are thinking: a Christmas story in the middle of September? I've been working on this story for about a year now and am still working on it. So, by the time it is Christmas, I'm hoping it'll be finished. I really liked the idea and hope you do to. Its been a favorite of mine to work on. It's not your typical lovey, dovey Pokemon Christmas kiddie story. I wanted to show people that friendships have no age limit and hope that by the end of this story, I would have accomplished that. Well, there is one thing I should let you know about this story: its not a top priority. What do you mean, oh great MastermindMedley10? I mean I already have a majority of the story complete and checked. They are ready to go on whenever. However, I am a full time college student. Class comes first. What's second? Sleep and fanfic writing. In other words, if not many of you readers are enjoying the story, and YOU REVIEW AND INFORM ME, I will go back and edit my upcoming chapters before posting and keep in mind your suggestions as I complete the fic. If you guys are loving it and are begging for more (once more, this thing called REVIEWING) I will, with lack of sleep, go post more chapters and continue writing regularly. But, no reviews in general, and sleep will most definately win over fanfic writing. Hey, I love you guys, which is why I want to know what you think. So read and review!

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Chapter 1:A Much Needed Guest

The funeral was over.

There was nothing left to do. No one to comfort. No mourners to greet and mourn with. Nothing. Just the eerie, dark silence of the Oak Lab from the days that followed. Of course, there was one sound that could be heard. A very familiar sound to those who knew the lab and its occupant: the sound of Professor Oak diligently typing away on his computer. Though, it was not the same man that the Pokémon World knew and loved.

No, since the accident, that man vanished and left in its place a man plagued by depression, sleepless nights, and many more awful feelings. On the rare occasion that he did get some rest that, too, was disturbed with nightmares that often left the old man waking himself up with suddenly yelps, drenched in a cold sweat, shaking, and with a shortness of breath.

The Professor Oak now had been typing for hours without taking a break. That was the norm for him now. The very thought of having his mind wonder to the incident that now left a dark void in his heart was too much to bear. The eternal clicking of his fingers taping the keyboard had become a mere buzz in the background.

Suddenly, a new sound made him jump, startling him. The sound of the doorbell made his ears echo and his heart start to race. The sudden shock left him clutching where his heart was, trying to slow his rapid heartbeats. He licked his very dry lips, trying to get some movement in his very stiff body.

"Coming," the old professor managed in a hoarse whisper, his voice sounding rusty after so long without using it. His effort was useless, the visitor obviously didn't hear him, as the doorbell rang again. He carefully stood out of his chair, his limbs sore from lack of movement.

He managed a dry swallow, one hand balancing himself on the back of his chair, the other outstretched trying to gain more balance. He wet his lips again.

"Coming", he said, once more, still sounding hoarse, but louder this time. It worked. The third bell stopped sounding in mid ring.

Slightly crouched from sitting for so long, the old man stumbled through the dark rooms up to the front door. He straightened himself before opening the door, hoping he didn't look as tired as he felt.

At the door was a very familiar face, not only to him, but to most of the Pokémon world.

"Hi, Professor Oak!" said Misty in delight, looking up at him through her red bangs with turquoise colored eyes.

"Oh, hello, Misty", said Professor Oak softly with a small smile, not wanting his dry voice to give him away to his grief. "Please, come in. You'll freeze to death out there!" he said, as he ushered her in.

"Thanks," said Misty, as she wiped her light blue boots free from any snow mush and stepped over the threshold, while the professor closed the door behind her. One glance of the once joyful place told her that a lot had changed since the accident.

"So, I see you brought my package for me. Thank you, I really appreciate it," the professor said quietly, as he took the small brown box that the young girl carried in her arms and helped her out of her light pink coat and hung it on a nearby coat hanger.

"It was no problem, Professor," replied Misty, as she brought her backpack around to her front and unzipped it, revealing a very happy and cute mouse type Pokémon, Azurill.

"Azurill!" the baby blue Pokémon exclaimed happily, as it jumped to the floor at the old man's feet, beaming up at him.

"It's good to see you too, Azurill," said Oak, as he bent down to pet Azurill on the head, with that same small sad smile.

"Well, take off your boots and stay awhile", Oak said, as he slowly stood up. "I can put tea on and I might have something special for Azurill."

"Sure, why not?" said Misty, as she took her boots off and set them neatly by the door. She felt bad declining, especially seeing how lonely the old man was.

She followed the professor, with her baby Pokémon following her heels, through the dark hall into a dark kitchen, which Oak flicked the light switch on for. The sudden light seemed to dazzle the professor, as he blinked many times to adjust his eyes.

"Been working hard on your computer today, Professor?" teased Misty, as she settled into a chair at the kitchen table.

He gave a soft snort of laughter.

"Just trying to stay busy", he replied in that same soft voice, as he gathered the necessities to make tea.

With his back turned, Misty let her concern for the kindly, old professor show through to her face. Ever since the accident, he just became a ghost of his former self. Though he was doing his best to show he was fine, to mask his pain, Misty saw right through his charade. He was hurting. And the fake smile he was putting on, along with his calm tone wasn't hiding anything.

He was almost unrecognizable with his gray hair (that looked grayer to her since the incident) slightly messy, his sagging skin that had taken on a gray tint with the depression, a bony look to his figure due to him losing weight from him not eating as much, dark bags around his eyes from lack of sleep, a five o'clock shadow, due to him not keeping up with shaving, and the fact that he wasn't donning his usual outfit of dark brown shoes, tan khakis, a red button up shirt, and of course, the piece that he is most famous for: his white lab coat. Today, his clothes consisted of a beat up old dark gray sweater, baggy light gray sweat pants, and much worn looking socks.

As the professor turned around with two steaming cups of tea, Misty quickly pretended to adjust her sideways ponytail, to hide the concerned look that she was giving him, and quickly replaced it with a smile.

"Thanks, Professor!" said Misty, accepting a cup from him, as he placed a small bowl of berries in front of Azurill, who gave a small squeal of delight and dug in.

"My pleasure", replied Oak, as he settled himself into the chair opposite of her and took a drink from the cup.

"So, where is Tracey?" asked Misty, noticing that his loyal assistant was missing.

"I let him take off early for the holidays to spend time with his family in the Orange Islands," answered Oak.

"Oh," said Misty, trying to think of something else to ask." What about Mrs. Ketchum?"

"She's visiting a cousin on One Island."

"Ash, Brock, and Dawn aren't coming?"

"No, Brock is going back to Pewter City for the holidays, and Dawn is also going back home to celebrate with her mother. Ash is taking a boat to One Island to celebrate with his mother, too."

"Oh. What about Gary? Is he coming to visit? You know, I figured he'd stay after the funeral, seeing that Christmas was a little over a month away. I was surprised to hear he left a few days afterward."

Misty noticed how Oak's eyes closed momentarily in pain at the mention of the funeral and automatically felt sorry for mentioning it.

"I'm so sorry. I should-", she managed, before Oak interrupted, once more with that pained smile.

"No worries Misty. You're just curious. Anyway, no, Gary isn't coming down to visit. He is with his parents in their home near Mt. Silver, which is why he left so suddenly." He gave a sigh and continued, "They really need each other right now."

"What about you? Looks like you need them too."

He gave a slight shrug and replied, "I've got a lot of work to do. Besides, when you become my age, Christmas is just another date, except fancier."

"Oh," said Misty, as she looked down into her cup, feeling remorse for the old man for having to spend Christmas alone.

"Enough of my troubles," said Oak, trying to sound happy," a young lady like yourself has got to have some big Christmas plans. So, are you going anywhere? Doing anything?"

"Nope", sighed Misty, "by the looks of it, it's just me and my Pokémon alone at the gym. My sisters are performing in a play in Hoenn and my parents are with them. And someone has to watch the gym."

She took a quick swig of her tea out of frustration. Life was so unfair.

"I'm sorry to hear that", said Oak, meaning it.

"Well, at least I have your Christmas bash to look forward to", said Misty.

"Uh…not this year, Misty", stated Oak nervously. He didn't know how she would react to the news.

"What do you mean?" exclaimed Misty, "The 'Oak Christmas Bash' is a Christmas tradition! People come from miles around to attend!"

"Not this year", repeated Oak, then, noticing Misty's shocked expression, continued with a sigh, "I need a break this year. It's going to be a long enough holiday, especially since the….accident. I just don't have the heart for it this year."

Misty nodded mutely and looked at the time.

"Oh, no! I've been here for too long! Sorry Professor, I really have to go!" she said, as she handed Oak back her tea cup and scooped Azurill up in her arms.

"Oh, well, thank you again for my package and please don't hesitate to visit," said Oak as he followed Misty to the front door.

"Will do, Professor! And thanks again!" said Misty hurriedly, as she put on her jacket and boots and placed Azurill back in her bag, zipping it shut and placing it on her back.

As she turned to leave, she paused and turned around to face the Professor. She felt so sorry that he had to spend Christmas alone, especially after all that has happened.

Much to the Professor's surprise, Misty wrapped her arms around him, making him freeze with shock.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to Daisy May," whispered Misty in the stunned professor's ear, "You two were really close and I'm real sorry that you have to spend Christmas alone."

She released him and looked up at him with her brilliant turquoise eyes.

"If you need anything, let me know", she said, as she walked out the door, waving.

Even when the door shut, the professor didn't move, still stunned by her action. Finally, after a few silent minutes, he walked to the door, sank down, rested his back to the door, and let the silent tears come.

-End of Ch.1-

Well, what do you think? Advice and reviews will be much appreciated! Also, I know, not very actiony, but that comes later.


	2. Chapter 2: An Idea

**Ch.2: An Idea**

Misty rushed into her room in Cerulean City, trying to escape the sudden chill from outside.

"Brrrr….! It's freezing out there! I'm glad we made it before it started to snow again! Right, Azurill?" said Misty, as she unzipped her backpack and the baby Pokemon jumped on her bed.

"Azurill!" exclaimed the baby Pokemon, agreeing, as it snuggled under Misty's blue and white covers on her bed, trying to get warm.

Misty chuckled at the tiny Pokemon as she freed herself from her boots and jacket.

"It's a shame about Professor Oak spending the holidays alone, isn't it?" said Misty, as she laid her garments in their proper places and settled on the bed next to Azurill.

"Azurill…"said the Pokemon sadly, looking up at Misty with her big, adorable eyes from underneath the mass of blankets.

"Especially after he does so much for everyone else…"sighed Misty, as wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head against them.

Her eyes drifted towards her nightstand, where there laid a single, decorated card. She absentmindedly reached over and grabbed it, studying it.

One the front was a photo of a beautiful girl in the middle of laughing with flowers decorating the border. She had long, light brown hair and her long bangs had a sharp, cow-licked style to them. She also had slightly thick, dark brown eyebrows and long eyelashes. Though her eyes weren't open, due to her laughing, Misty knew that she had light brown eyes. Also on the front in fancy script under the photo were the following:

_**In the Beautiful and Lovely Memory of Daisy May Oak  
A Celebration of Her 16 Wonderful Years on Earth  
An Incredible Daughter, Granddaughter, Sister, and Friend**_

Misty knew what the inside contained; information of her life and sudden death, her family members and closest friends name's were included, the order on how the funeral went, who sang what when, who said what when, etc. Misty turned the card over, knowing what she'd find. In the same fancy script read the following:

_**Gone, but not forgotten  
That statement is surely true for you  
Your time on Earth was short, but not begotten  
**__**We will always love and miss you**_

-poem by grandfather, Professor Samuel Oak

Misty was touched by his words. She didn't know that he could write something so sentimental.

"Azurill?" asked the baby Pokemon, looking at the card.

"I wish there was something we could do to help the Professor this Christmas", sighed Misty, as she returned the card back to her nightstand. She sighed again and wrapped her arms around her knees once more, resting her forehead on them, and closed her eyes. She stayed like that for a few minutes while millions of thoughts swirled in her mind.

Finally, one thought struck.

"That's it!" exclaimed Misty, as she jumped off the bed and scurried to her computer, clicking it on.

"'rill?" questioned the confused looking Pokemon, still on the bed.

"I have an idea crazy enough to help the Professor for Christmas, Azurill!" said Misty with glee, as her fingers tapped furiously away at her computer.

Azurill stared dumbstruck at its Trainer, while Misty talked excitedly to herself.

"I mean, it'll work….It has to! And I have enough connections to make it work…I wonder if I can get Brock to do the cooking? He has a dozen or so siblings to help him…And Tracey, I'm sure he'll be on board to do anything to help the Professor! How to get Ash and his mom here, though…hmmm….I know! They can use my exclusive 'Island Jump Pass' that I got when I became a Gym Leader! Perfect! Though, if Ash loses my only ticket to a quick vacation, he'll be beyond sorry…I'll just ask Mrs. Ketchum to keep up with it for me. And how to get May, Max, and Dawn here? Hmmm…Invite the region professor's and ask if they can hop a ride with them when they come! Excellent! Misty, you're a genius! How to keep this a secret though? Looks like I have to pull an all-nighter…Now, more importantly, how to get the Professor out of his lab with no knowledge of what's going on? Hmmm….?" she paused thinking to herself.

Azurill was now sweat-dropping and questioning every ounce of her Trainer's sanity.

Misty turned to face the Pokemon, a big Cheshire grin on her face. The type of grin that suggested sneakiness, trouble, and perhaps some form of foul play.

"Hey, Azurill", said Misty, her voice matching her grin. "Do you think that the actress genes run through everyone in the Waterflower family?"

"Azu…rill?" questioned the tiny Pokemon, who continued to sweat-drop and question her Trainer's senses.

"Well, let's find out", she said, as she turned back around to her computer and put it on telephone mode.

-End of Ch.2-

Reviews would be very appreciated! Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3: Too Many Phones Calls

** To those who have reviewed, free, imaginary cookies go to you! For those who have read and have not reviewed, shame on you! May the Flying Purple People-Eater break into your home and eat all your cookies! MWAHAHAHA! OK, all kidding aside, reviews really do help me write better. They let me know what is good is what isn't. I hope you guys like this chapter. As simple as it is, it was a favorite of mine to write. Warning though: this chapter is one of the main reasons why this fic is rated 'Teen'. Though nothing is described, it does mention the misuse of alcohol and a very mild sexual suggestion, as well as death. I do caution young readers who may be reading this (like you are not supposed to...but, hey, I did it too...). So, yeah, you've been warned. Without further ado, enjoy!~**

**Ch.3: Too Many Phone Calls**

'_Hi, Gramps!' said the sweet, cheerful voice on the other end of the phone_

'Oh, hey sweetie!' said Professor Oak, who smiled at the sound of her voice. He was using the portable phone, so they couldn't see each other. 'Everything going alright? You'll be here soon, right?'

'I got about another hour of driving left', the sweet voice responded. 'Thought I'd call and let you know everything is going fine.'

'Alright. You be careful driving in that snow, you hear? And what are you doing calling me while driving? You know that both hands need to be on the wheel at all times!'

'Relax, Grandpa. I got one of those voice command driving phone systems. Both of my hands are safely on the wheel while I talk.'

'That's good.'

'Uh-oh.'

' 'Uh-oh'? Daisy May, what's wrong?'

'There's a guy driving close behind me. He's swerving too.'

'Try to lose him', said Oak, trying to stay calm, 'Take a narrow turn somewhere.'

'Way ahead of you. Please stay on the phone with me, Gramps.'

'Don't worry. I won't hang up.'

'Thanks', said Daisy May, trying to stay calm as well.

After a silent minute, Oak heard her gasp.

'He followed me! I took the most unused path I could find, and he followed me! Grandpa, I think he's drunk or something. It's freezing and I see that he has his windows down and no shirt on.'

'Daisy May, you get back to the main road as quickly as possible! I'm calling the police. Try to pull _into a public area and get help', said Oak, as he grabbed his cell phone and quickly began to dial. He began to hear her panic._

'Talk to me, sweetheart. What's going on now? Do you have any of your Pokémon with you?' he asked.

'No', she whispered, in tears, 'I sent them to the Poke Spa for the weekend. I didn't think anything bad would happen…And I'm in a wooded area. There's nothing around. Gramps, he's speeding up! Help!' she screamed.

'Daisy May? Daisy May! Calm down! I'm right here! Everything will be just fine! I'm here! It's alright!'

'Help me, Grandpa! Please!' she begged.

'I-I'm doing everything I can!'

'He's speeding up! Help!'

'Yes, on that Route-', said Oak, also answering the questions of Officer Jenny on the phone, 'Just hurry!'

'Help!' she cried.

'I'm trying everything I can! The police will be there soon-'

'GRANDPA!' he heard her shriek, along with a crash, then the sound of the dial tone. He felt all the blood leave his face as he dropped the phone.

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Professor Oak woke up to the sound of his own cry, shaking and shivering uncontrollably. He was covered in a cold sweat and his heart was beating rapidly. He took several gulps of air to calm himself. After he was somewhat calmer, he looked at his surroundings. It was obvious that he had fallen asleep by the front door after Misty left. He hoisted himself up off the hard, cold floor and looked at a nearby clock. He'd been asleep for about three hours. He shook his head trying to clear it.

He walked over to the kitchen and began to clean up from Misty's visit, trying to keep the reoccurring dream out of his mind. Trying to keep the last few moments of his granddaughters' life hidden. He sighed, his heart heavy, as he placed the dishes back where they belonged. As he finished, the phone rang. He gave a slight moan as he went to answer it. He was in no mood to talk today.

It was on its third ring when he answered it.

"Oak Residence", said Oak in a tired tone, as he sat down in front of the phone.

"Hello, Professor Oak!" said his cheerful colleague from the Hoenn Region, Professor Birch. The big, muscular, brown bearded and haired man seemed too big for the video phone screen. He wore a big boyish grin. A big Teddiursa to those who knew him.

"Hello, Professor", said Oak, trying to rub some sleep out of his eyes.

"Can we cut the small talk, Professor? I need to speak frank with you," said Birch.

"Sure, Ed," sighed the older man, settling more into his chair. Knowing Birch, this could take awhile…

"OK, to start out-you're a wreck, Sam! What happened to you?"

Oak just gave him a dark look.

"I know that losing a love one is tough, but I think we're losing you too! You're a mess! Also, word on the street is that you're not having the usual 'Oak Christmas Bash'. What's up with that? With all that's happened, don't you want to have some fun?"

"I just need a break this year, Ed", Oak replied, with a tired sigh. "I'm getting older everyday. This experience just bumped me up a few years. I just don't have the energy-or the heart-for it this year."

Birch stared at him for a moment, than said quietly. "Would Daisy May want you to be sad on her favorite holiday?"

Oak cringed.

Birch sighed.

"On with other matters", Birch continued. "So, the Oak's spending a quiet holiday together then?"

Oak shook his head.

"Well, the rest of the family is. I've got work to do", said Oak.

"What kind of work?"

"That report the League wanted about my thoughts on Lapras treatment."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Sammie! You can do that report with one hand tied behind your back, blindfolded, while arm wrestling a Machoke, and playing chess with an Alakazam!"

"I think that would require more hands…"

"You know what I mean!" growled Birch.

"I do", said Oak, quietly. "I just don't want to make the holiday grimmer than it has to be."

"And acting like an emo kid alone in your study won't be long for you?"

Oak gave him a sad glance.

"Well", said Birch slowly. "You're more than welcome to come and stay at my house. Though, I'm warning you, it's going to be packed! Brendan, my son, you've met him, right?, and all my brother's and their families are coming. And, of course my wife and daughter. But expect to be stuffed when you leave! My wife and theirs can all cook! I ain't lying either!" He chuckled. "Well, I guess you have to be a good cook to live around guys like us. My brother's are all built like me, and there's five of us, so…" he grinned with a slight shrug.

"I take it your poor mother was a good cook, then?" asked Oak, trying to tease.

"Oh, the best! She had a sweet potato pie recipe that could make even a Snorlax stuffed! And what do you mean by 'poor mother'?"

"Hey, I have a son, too….I don't see how your mother handled five…" Oak cringed at the thought.

Birch gave a bark of his booming laugh.

"So, when do we need to expect you at the Birch home?" asked Birch. "And before you say anything about being a burden, my wife was the one to suggest it, and she wouldn't have done so if she thought it was too much." He grinned at Oak's 'off-guard' expression. "It's just another mouth to feed to her, heheh."

"Look, I really appreciate the offer, but I just can't now. Please try to understand."

Birch stared at him with his eyes narrowed for a moment.

"Fine", he said. "But on one condition: After everyone leaves Christmas evening, my wife, daughter, and I are going to visit and bring you a plate of my wife's cooking. Deal?"

"Fine", sighed Oak, knowing he wasn't getting out of this one.

"Well, it's settled then! See you on Christmas!" said Birch, happily waving into the phone.

"Bye", muttered Oak, as the screen went black.

Before he had a chance to do anything else, the phone rang once more.

"Oak Residence", Oak almost snarled into the phone. He was sick of talking.

"Hi, Professor", said a sad sounding female voice, as Misty's picture showed on the screen.

"Misty, are you alright? Is something wrong?" questioned Oak, taking on a much kinder voice and sitting up straighter in his chair. He was very concerned as to what was causing Misty's sad attitude.

"I-I'm just nervous, Professor…"she stated in her sad tone. Her big, turquoise eyes seemed to grow moist.

"About what? Is something wrong?"

"I-I just heard on the radio that there were a string of robberies going on in Cerulean an-and that just made me scared. I've never been in the gym alone when something like this was going on…"

"Oh, it's nothing to be concerned with, Misty", said Oak, trying to calm the girl. He was very shocked that something like this was upsetting her. He'd known her to be very brave."You just lock the doors and windows and keep your Pokémon close by. If you hear or need anything, you call me and I'll Teleport right over."

"Thanks a lot, Professor. But, I was kinda wondering if you could, perhaps, stay at the gym with me for a few days….?" asked Misty, in an innocent tone.

Oak stared at her dumbfounded.

"Not, to sound rude, Misty", said Oak, slowly, trying to find the right words. "But, that's out of the question. We both have reputations to uphold in the Pokémon World, and if people see something like that…well, things will get said…rumors get started…not that I would even think of doing anything to you!" he added quickly.

"Please", said Misty, blinking her big, beautiful eyes. "You wouldn't have to worry about anything! I can make it look like your not staying too long, and if anyone asks, you're helping me out in a project. Oh, please Professor! Just for a few days!"

Oak suppressed a groan as he beheld her moist eyes. Then he fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

"You promise you will make it look like I haven't been there too long?" asked Oak.

"Gym Leader's Honor!" said Misty, whose eyes got suddenly dry.

"When do you want me there?" sighed Oak, rubbing his temples.

"It's too late now, so how about tomorrow evening? Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Your welcome", sighed Oak.

"Bye Professor! See you tomorrow!" said a delighted Misty with a smile, as she waved.

"Bye", muttered Oak, as the screen went black.

-End of Ch.3-

So, what'd you think? Reviews would be very much appreciated!

Happy reading!

~MastermindMedley10


	4. Chapter 4: Time flies

**Ch. 4-Time flies...**

Misty gave a squeal of delight after hanging up the phone from calling Professor Oak. She spun around to face her nervous looking Azurill, beaming that her plan had worked.

She ran over and picked up Azurill and began spinning around her room.

"I should be an actress!" she exclaimed, as she continued to spin around in her excitement, which only made her blue Pokemon take on a slight green look, "I was brilliant! He doesn't suspect a thing! Don't you think I was great, Azurill?"

"Azu...rill...," Azurill managed to say as she continued to grow more green with each spin. Misty stopped spinning and looked down at her baby Pokemon.

"Huh? Azurill, your green! Oh, no! You got motion sickness!"

Misty gently placed Azurill back on her bed, where the baby Pokemon teetered on her small feet before falling dizzily over in the sheets. Misty couldn't help but giggle at the sight. The poor Pokemon looked drunk!

"I won't spin you around again, Azurill," said Misty, as she petted her between her ears, "You just lay here and relax. I've got a lot of work to do!"

With that, Misty nearly skipped out her room, as Arurill looked on wondering what 'work' she was planning to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Professor Oak continued to stare at the blank screen. What on earth had he gotten himself into?

"Trouble! That's what!" he muttered to himself as he picked himself up and walked slowly to his bedroom. Despite the fact that he really didn't want to go stay at the Cerulean Gym for the next few days, he did promise Misty. He didn't want to let her down, like he did Daisy May...

He attempted to push back that last thought as he brought down his old, dusty brown suitcase from the top shelf in his closet. As he shook some of the dust off the battered case, he couldn't get that thought from his mind. The thought that if he'd only called the police sooner, or if he'd called Daisy May sooner, or had just gotten her a hotel room for another night instead of asking her to return that evening, or if he'd just sent over one of his Pokemon to stay with her during that weekend, or...

_"Enough!" _he mentally shouted to himself, as he realized that he was no longer dusting off his suitcase, but punching it as he was deep in thought.

He sighed and threw down the suitcase on his bed and jerked it open. He turned to his drawers and began to dig around for some clothes to bring, not paying much attention as to what he was pulling out. He didn't have many clean clothes anyway...he had not done laundry in days...

"She's gone," he muttered to himself harshly, scowling as he continued to rummage blindly through his shirt drawer, "She's gone, _dead. _There's nothing you can do to bring her back."

He sloppily folded the clothes he picked and placed them roughly in the suitcase. As he went back to his drawer, a cold thought paralyzed him in his place.

_You're right-she's gone. Dead. And its your fault. You could've saved her, but you didn't. You just listened to her die. _

He gave a weak moan as he sat down on the edge of his bed, burying his face in his hands. He felt sick and cold, like ice water instead of blood was pulsing through his body. These thoughts have haunted him since he realized Daisy May had died. His close friends and family assured him that he did all he could and that no one could've predicted that this would happen. As much as he wanted to believe them, he just couldn't grasp the thought that he could've, and should've, done more.

He sat like that on the bed, face in his hands, for what he thought to be an hour or two. Honestly, though the position made him stiff, it calmed him down a lot. He just emptied his mind. Nothing distracted him. It was quiet-relaxing, almost. The only sound he heard was his breathing, the only thing he felt was the his warm breath. Peace and quiet. Dark and calm. For most people, it would've annoyed them, perhaps even frighten some. To the old man, it was a sanctuary, in a sense. Almost like he could leave this world behind and forget the pain. Feel nothing, just numbness. No pain, no regret, no sorrow, no fear...

_"But, all good things must come to an end...," _he thought to himself, as he, unwillingly, lifted his head up and tried to bring feeling to his stiff joints. He looked up at the clock on his beige wall. It read 11:43.

He blinked and read the time again. The hands on the antique continued to read '11:43'.

"I thought I was only out of it for an hour or so...that can't be right...I started packing around five this evening."

He slowly and stiffly arose from his bed and went over to the clock. The clock had never been wrong about the time before...

"First time for everything," Oak said softly to himself, as he checked to see if the clock was still working properly. The results puzzled him; the clock was working fine.

Oak was stunned. "Well, I guess it really is late at night...", he said, as he went over to pull up his window blinds. What he saw shocked him even more. He covered his eyes.

"Daylight?" he questioned, as he adjusted his eyes to the light, looking at the bright, snow covered landscape before him. He couldn't believe it. He slept all through the evening, night, and morning.

"Well, I'll be...I really did sleep in..."

He turned to survey what he'd accomplished during his packing the night before. No much, besides a mess, from what he could see. Clothes were half hanging out of the drawers, some even fell to the floor in a rumpled heap. The clothes in his suitcase were wrinkled and unorganized. He shook his head. And _he'd_ gotten on to Peter, his son, for having a messy room as a child...

As Oak began to walk over to clean the clothes off the floor, he paused at the sight of himself in the mirror above his drawers. What he saw only added to the mix of shocked feelings he was experiencing that day.

"I'm a wreck!" he exclaimed, as he examined his reflection. He fingered his new sagging skin and dark circles around his eyes. He ran his hand through his unkempt hair, which looked grayer to him. Shaking his head in disgust, he felt the scratchy beard that was growing on his once smooth face. Finally, he tried to find a positive in his battered new appearance. He stepped back and turn slightly side to side.

"At least I lost those last few pounds..."

He sighed at his poor attempt to find a positive. Then, embarrassment overtook him. He'd let others see him like this-friends, colleagues, maybe even family. Determination then replaced his embarrassment. He looked at the clock. 12:05. He had no time to lose.

Hmmmm...took a different turn than what I thought. Strange how that happens, huh? Well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, as well as the entire story. I personally am enjoying writing it! You know the drill—Review! Let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5: The Calm Before the Storm

**Ch.5- The Calm Before the Storm **

_RING, RINGGG!_

"Coming!" shouted Misty, excitedly, as she ran breathlessly to the door. She had been cleaning and planning all day without stopping once. Now, to see if all her efforts had worked...

She ran to the door, trying to make herself appear not so breathless. She straightened her ponytail and answered the door, a large smile on face.

"Welcome, Profe-," but the words were lost on her as she looked at the Professor. Stunned, she took in his new, well, returning back to his old, appearance. He stood before her clean-shaven and hair combed, wearing a nice light gray sweater, black pants and boots, along with a brown coat. He still looked thin and a bit bony, and the wrinkles were still deeper, but Misty was still amazed at his overnight transformation. The dark circles under his eyes even looked lighter and his eyes looked less tired.

The Professor gave a slight chuckle at her reaction. "Surprised?"

Misty looked up at him, her smile even wider than before as she ushered him in doors. "You bet! I love your new clothes! And it looks like you got some good sleep from all your work. You look like you feel better."

"I do," said Oak, as he removed his jacket and boots and placed them in their proper places by the door, as Misty took his small suitcase and set it out of the way.

"I figured some hot tea would be good for these cold days, so I have a pot on in the kitchen," said Misty, leading the way into her dining room, "And I'm not much of a cook, so I ordered some Chinese for tonight. I hope you don't mind," she said as she motioned to the white take-out foam boxes on the table, "Please, have a seat! Your probably hungry."

"Misty, you didn't have to go through all the trouble," said Oak, as he settled himself down at the table, "Now, I don't want to be waited on while I'm here. You let me know how I can lend a hand around here."

Misty giggled as she placed a cup of steaming tea and a plate of Chinese food in front of the Professor.

"No, worries, Professor! I'll make sure you stay busy."

"I'm not sure if I should be scared of that or not...what do you think, Azurill?" said the Professor, as he spied the baby Pokemon attempt to make a beeline under the table towards his plate undetected.

"Azurill!" the Pokemon said sheepishly, as she jumped and balanced herself on the large blue orb at the end of her tail. Oak just laughed and picked up the Pokemon and placed her in his lap.

Oak handed Azurill a piece of stir-fried broccoli dipped in sauce from his plate and petted her head as she munched happily on the treat."How on earth can I ignore something as cute as you?"

"Rill!" replied Azurill with her mouth full.

Misty walked over to the scene placing her hands on her hips and shaking her head.

"Azurill! No! Don't eat Professor Oak's food, he's our guest!" scolded Misty.

Oak chuckled as he scratched Azurill under her ears, her mouth covered with sauce.

"No, worries, Misty. I prefer sharing anyways," said Oak, as he handed Arurill another piece of broccoli. Misty giggled at the delighted Pokemon as she sat down at the table with her own plate of food and tea.

As the two humans, plus one Pokemon, ate their meal, Misty and the Professor made small talk; Pokemon, the weather, local news...compared to the last talk that they had before, this one went a lot smoother. As the meal came to a close, Misty cleaned up the table (despite Oak's offer to help, but was turned down when Misty refused to allow her guest to clean up), and the two entered the living room, where Oak settled himself in the recliner and Misty sat down on the couch.

"The meal was delicious, Misty. Thank you."

"No problem, Professor," said Misty, smiling as she watched her baby Pokemon hop back into Oak's lap. She gave a soft giggle. Azurill had really taken a liking to the old man. "You'll be happy to know it won't always be take out. Brock heard you were staying here for a few days and offered to come over one evening to cook for us."

"How generous of him."

They sat in silence, the Professor staring into the fireplace where a soft fire had been burning all evening, illuminating the room and its occupants. Misty noticed his eyes beginning to droop. She checked her watch. Only 7:30. He needed rest. Misty had noticed he didn't eat much this evening. Hopefully that would change soon.

She gave a slight cough. "Uh, Professor?"

The old man jumped as he heard himself being spoken to. His action surprised him. He didn't notice himself dozing off.

"Looks like your ready for bed, Professor."

Oak turned to look at Misty, her hair taking on a more orange color due to the fire light. He looked down at the Pokemon in his lap, who was now fast asleep. Misty grinned as she came over and gently picked up the Pokemon from his lap.

"I guess Azurill feels the same," said Misty, as she cradled the Pokemon, "Let me show you to your room, Professor."

Misty led the Professor to the guest room, his suitcase already placed on the bed.

Misty turned to leave, pausing at the doorway. " 'Night, Professor Oak. Let me know if you need anything."

"Will do. Thank you, Misty, and good night."

As Misty softly closed the door, Oak examined his new room. The walls were a light blue with a few colorful paintings of water Pokemon on the walls and the bed sheets were a darker blue. The lamp on the nightstand beside his bed gave off a soft glow, which made the room give off a feeling of calmness. He changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed, turning off the lamp as he went under the blankets.

As the room became dark, the feeling of calmness was gone, leaving his imagination to linger to the dark, haunting parts of his mind. With a shuddering sigh, he knew that this was going to be a long night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of Ch. 5

Eh, not my favorite to write, but it does set off a series of events for us later on. What series of events, you ask? Heheh, you'll have to read to find out. Also, this author likes reviews. A lot. ***hint, hint* **


	6. Chapter 6:The Blues Never Fade Away

Right. Some of you may want to kill me for my extreme lack of updating. Some of you may be thankful for my absence. Either way, this "comeback" chapter of mine was a pain to write, but I hope some of you will enjoy it, or at least get a better idea of the story. My apologies for may delay and, hopefully, it won't happen again.~

Ch. 6: But the Blues Never Fade Away…Or do they? 

"_GRANDPA!"_

Oak awoke suddenly, sweat pouring off of him, shaking, his breathing coming in short gasps. He sat up and leaned up against his pillow, taking deep breaths to calm himself. After a few moments of attempting to relax, he turned to check the digital clock on the nightstand next to his bed. 5:32. In the morning. He groaned into his pillow. He had just gotten to sleep sometime around nine or ten that night. But, though he was in a new environment, his nightmares refused to leave him. This was the fourth time he had awakened in this state.

The dream was always the same: there the old man stood in a meadow somewhere. Though he did not know how he got there, he did know that he was searching for someone. That someone was he beloved granddaughter, Daisy May. In his dream, he searched fervently, but coming up with nothing. The scene, in a way, was a very chilling irony. There he was in a beautiful, calm, peaceful meadow, full of flowers and a small stream. Yet, calm and peace were the last things he felt in his dream. In this dream, urgency and fear, along with a cold chill, were always with him. The professor, in this dream, was always running and shouting out for his granddaughter, but his search was always in vain.

Then, after some seeking, the worst part of this nightmare came. This was the part that the professor knew so well, and even in his dreams, he always both looked forward to it, yet regretted getting to it. This was the part where he finally spotted his lovely granddaughter. She would always be sitting some ways away from him next to the stream. At the first sight of her, Oak always ran towards her, but never seemed to get any closer.

"_Come on, Grandpa!"_ the angelic voice of Daisy May said to him in this dream, always with a hint of joy and laughter. _"I need you!"_

It was by these words that Oak attempted to run faster, his efforts still to no avail.

"_Grandpa, hurry! I need you!"_ the voice always said, which was always followed by her sweet laughter,

"_Don't you miss me?"_

"I do!" Oak always shouted out, trying to get his feet to go faster, "I miss you so much! I'm hurrying!"

Her laughter would ring out again, which, by now, would cause Oak's heart to stop beating for a few beats. The laughter, this time, would always signify the essence behind the nightmare. After her laughter, cold would replace the heat from the sunny meadow. The grass, trees and flowers would begin to quickly fade and die. The sound of Daisy May's shocked gasp and sense of panic in her voice would forever pierce the old man's heart.

"_Gra-Grandpa! What's going on? Where are you?"_

"I'm trying, Daisy May! I'm trying to get to you as fast as I can!"

"_What's happening? Why is it getting dark? Help, Grandpa! I'm scared!"_

"I-I'm trying! Really!"

By this time, Daisy May was sobbing and the image of her was beginning to quickly fade into the oncoming shadows.

"_Please, Grandpa! Please, help! I'm begging!"_

"I'm trying so hard, Daisy May! I'm coming! Hold on!"

The tears would now be streaming down the old man's face, along with a mix of his sweat from all his running, which still got him nowhere. Panic would always completely absorb him by this point, leaving him breathless.

"_Don't you care? I'm so scared! Please!"_

"I-I'm trying! I don't know why I can't get to you!"

"_Don't you love me? Don't you care?"_

"I do!" Oak always screamed at this point, "I love you so much! I'm trying!"

"_Grandpa, please!"_

"I'm hurrying!"

"_Grandpa, help!"_

"Daisy May!"

"_GRANDPA!"_

The sound of her shrieking as she quickly disappeared into the darkness would always bring the old man from his terrible nightmare.

Oak turned and looked up at the ceiling, misery adding to his weariness. A lump started to form in his throat and tears stung his eyes. Would it ever end? The pain, the agony...would it ever cease?

"_Maybe it you don't deserve it to stop",_ said a small, quiet voice in his head, _"It was your fault, after all."_

Oak grimaced, but couldn't help but agree with the thought. He stared up at the ceiling for a while, thoughts swimming in his head. Then he remembered something.

_I'm at Misty's house._

He slowly arose and sat on the side of the bed and began to put his feet in his light pink house slippers, the thought still, slowly, forming.

_I'm her guest. It wouldn't be right to be this way here. It's one thing to be in this state in the comforts of your home, but not here. And not in front of Misty._

By the time that the thought settled, he was already in his light blue bathrobe and heading into the guest bathroom.

_Later in the kitchen. _

"Morning, Professor! You're up early."

Professor Oak turned to the smiling redhead, who bounded to the kitchen table he was sitting at with such an air of joy about her.

He envied her, in a way.

"_So happy for such a young girl", _he thought, as he took a sip of tea out of the mug he was drinking, _"But, she has seemed happier than usual lately...it must just be the Christmas season getting to her..."_

"Good morning, Misty," he said she sat in a chair at the table with him, "Yes, I'm always up early. I'm a natural early riser even away from work. I went ahead a made myself some tea, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Misty responded, trying not to make it obvious that she was observing the dark rings around his eyes. Her joy, for a moment, turned to concern. He'd gone to bed so early, did he not sleep well?

Misty sat down at the table and began to pour herself some hot tea, contemplating how she was going to question the professor about his first night at the gym without bringing up anything that had to deal with the death of his granddaughter.

Misty beamed at the professor and banking that her look of innocence and natural acting abilities would come into play and hide her true concern for the professor, she asked sweetly, "So, how did you sleep? Well, I hope."

"Oh...I slept fine," said Oak, though he did not sound reassuring.

Misty just nodded her head as she drank some tea, thinking of ways to help the professor during his stay at the gym.

"_Maybe he just needs to get a routine set up,"_ thought Misty to herself_, "Back at the lab before the accident, it was get up early, release and feed the Pokémon, eat breakfast, feed the Pokémon, do some research, feed and put the Pokémon up for the night, eat dinner, go to bed, and repeat the next day. Sounds monotonous to me, but he enjoyed doing the work. Since the accident, the other region professors took the Pokémon from his lab to care for them for the time being while he and his family_ _mourned. It was real thoughtful of them and all, but maybe keeping them for as long as they have was not the best thing...Professor Oak is used to keeping busy. Maybe having him help around the gym will lighten his spirits some. I hate having guests do my job, but if it'll help the Professor, then by all means...,"_ Misty grinned as the next thoughts passed through her mind_, "And keeping him busy by doing some chores around the gym will leave me more time to work on my other plans for him!"_

"So, I was wondering…with it just being me covering the gym for a while, would you mind helping me around the gym some? It wouldn't be too much, just feeding the Pokémon and helping with some errands."

"I wouldn't mind at all, Misty," answered the professor as he scooped up Azurill into his arms from the kitchen floor, "It would be something to do, after all."

Misty grinned. "Thanks, professor! I promise, it won't be too much."

After a breakfast consisting of apple juice, toast, oatmeal and some fruit (during which, Misty noticed that Professor Oak didn't really eat much), they got to work doing the chores around the gym. As it was the holiday season, Misty had not had many challengers in a while, so the chores mainly consisted of feeding and exercising the Pokémon, along with a bit of tidying, such as dusting and sweeping. Misty tried to do most of the work, as to not place too much on her guest, but Professor Oak didn't seem bothered by his share of chores at all. If anything, he seemed to have grown happy and relaxed during the late morning chores, particularly when they were feeding the Pokémon.

During the feeding, Misty noticed that his old spark was coming back, albeit, very slowly, but it was there, hiding behind his eyes. Behind the hurt. She actually stepped back and watched him interact with the Pokémon. She had heard before that interacting with Pokémon could be therapeutic, and as she witnessed Oak feeding the Pokémon, who responded with cries of delight and grins of joy, and even the occasional splash from those who inhabited the huge tank in the main gym, she couldn't help but silently agree. He seemed so wrapped up in what he was doing, he didn't seem to notice that she had stopped helping him feed the Pokémon and had stepped back.

Which meant that it was a great time to continue putting her great plan into action….

"Hey, Professor," said Misty, as she began to back away to a door that lead out of the main gym, "I'm going to make a phone call real quick. I'll be right back."

"OK, take your time, no rush," answered the professor, who didn't even turn to her, but instead was helping Azurill into the large water tank with her larger water Pokemon, like Starmie, Gryados, and Dewgong, "I'll just be here exercising the Pokémon for a bit longer since they haven't battled in a while. If you want, I'll clean up from the morning feeding and you can get lunch ready after your phone call."

"Sounds great!" said Misty, grinning as she rushed to her phone in her room and shut the door securely behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of Chapter 6.

Good or not, your reviews on how the story is coming along will greatly help me while writing Chapter 7. As always, happy reading.~


	7. Will the Real Oak Please Stand Up?

This is officially my apology chapter for not updating for so long for chapter 6. This chapter goes to eighteen pages on Microsoft Word. _Eighteen pages! _AND I added a bit of Pokeshipping fluff. I feel very accomplished right now. Not necessarily for other things, like cleaning my dorm room or doing my Greek translations, but I definitely feel accomplished at this point in my little fanfic career. Go me. Maybe I'll get a life next semester…right, so this is another reason why the fic is rated 'T'. A lot of this chapter is a conversation between Oak and Misty, where Oak reveals a lot about himself, which may not be suitable for some of you kiddies who are actually under the age to be reading 'T' rated fics, but are doing so anyway….Nothing goes into great detail, but you have been warned. This fic went into an entirely different direction than what I had previously intended it to go, but I am pleased with it. And as a matter-of-fact, I did steal the title from a Jhoto episode. You'll see why it made sense. Enjoy.~ 

Ch. 7: Will the Real Oak Please Stand Up? 

"…if you say so…" sighed Misty into the phone as the screen went black.

She sighed again, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair, her mind going over the conversation that she just had with some of the people that were going to help her help Professor Oak. All had said the same thing; that the plan was doable, as long as he was out of the way. She had managed to get him out of his lab for a few days, but now she needed to get him out of the gym for a few hours so her sisters, Brock and his siblings could quickly come in, take some needed items for the plan and sneak over to meet up with the other region professors, Ash and his mom, who were already aware of the plan and were waiting for the supplies at the Oak Lab. The rest of the people who had agreed to help were either busy getting their schedules changed to help with the big surprise or were already doing their part.

Misty was pleasantly surprised that everyone she had called to help agreed with no complaints. And often times they said that they would recruit others to help. Word was starting to spread about a plan to make the professor's Christmas a success, even after the death of Daisy May. Trainers and other Pokémon personnel that Misty had never even met before were calling and emailing her, asking for details and how they could help. Misty never realized how many lives Professor Oak had touched. Though, thinking back, it really shouldn't have surprised her. He was born and raised in Pallet Town (a number of residents had called asking if there was anything they could do to help), he was a Pokémon Trainer for a number of years (Agatha, an old-time rival of Professor Oak's, had called and said that though she couldn't help much physically due to age, she would take care of any extra expenses needed for the plan and offered to get the Elite Four of the Kanto Region involved), became a researcher and taught at Celadon University for quite some time (many former pupils and colleagues had called offering their services), and, of course, gave beginning Trainers their first Pokémon (Misty was shocked at how many Trainers had emailed and called her about helping, including some very highly known and skilled Trainers).

However, what surprised her most was how much he had done for others. One neighbor of his had mentioned that if it weren't for him running to the rescue with a team of exceedingly skilled Water Pokémon, he would've lost his house due to a fire. One former pupil stated, with her eyes' growing moist, that after the professor had heard about the death of her grandmother on Thanksgiving, he knocked her grade up fifty points. A former assistant of his said that he gave him the job with no interview or resume, and he was pretty sure that it was because the kindly professor knew that he had nowhere else to go at the time. Another former pupil of his had told of the countless times that he went to the professor for help with a paper who, without complaint, stayed and helped him, even in the wee hours of the morning on some occasions. And there was no telling how many stories Misty had heard from Trainers who had called the professor ready to throw in the towel on the road to becoming a Pokémon Master, but who were persuaded otherwise from the advice and encouragement from Professor Oak. There really was no end to stories like these, though it surprised Misty greatly when she heard them. The professor had never mentioned nor acted that he had done any of these things. It was these stories that kept Misty motivated and encouraged to complete the surprise plan for the professor. Now there was no doubt that the professor deserved a surprise like this!

With that in mind, Misty focused on the task at hand: getting Professor Oak out of the gym for a couple hours. What could she do?

Once more, another idea struck Misty. She ran out of the room, hoping that it would work.

Once the professor was finished with the chores, he came into the kitchen to find Misty setting out some bowls of hot chicken noodle soup and crackers at the table, along with some hot cider. Oak was grateful for the warm lunch, as a gym devoted to Water types was typically kept cooler and a light blanket of snow was still settled on the ground, making him shiver slightly. He sat at the table with Azurill at his heels. As he took his first bite, Azurill jumped into his lap and nuzzled into his loose sweater.

"Aruzill!" Misty scolded, as she took her seat at the table across from the professor, "Don't be rude!"

Oak just chuckled and petted the baby Pokémon as she ignored her Trainer and began to close her eyes for a nap, "It's no worries, Misty. She's just tired after a long bit of exercise."

"She really has taken a liking to you," said Misty tenderly, as she watched her Pokémon begin to snore softy, "In fact, I think it's fair to say that all of the Pokémon here have taken a liking to you since you've arrived. I saw you feeding them and interacting with them, Professor. You certainly have a way with Pokémon."

"I would hope that I have a way with Pokémon, as it's my job," joked the professor as he took another bite of soup, "But, thank you nonetheless."

They sat and talked quietly for a while during their lunch, careful not to wake up Azurill. Near the end of the meal, Misty began to put another phase of her plan into action.

"So, Professor, since we got a lot done this morning, we really don't have much to do this afternoon", she mentioned nonchalantly, not wanting her voice to give way to her actual idea as she cleared the table.

Oak took a sip of his cider. "That's good. Better to be ahead than behind. What did you have in mind to do? Need help catching up on anything?"

"No, I'm caught up on all my other work," said Misty, hoping that her plan would work, "But, while you were feeding the Pokémon, I did some thinking and realized that I completely forgot about getting my sisters presents for Christmas. Would you mind if we took a quick trip to the mall?"

Of course, that wasn't the case. Misty had gotten them each something weeks ago and each gift was nicely wrapped and was sitting in the corner of her closet. But it was all she could come up with. Besides, getting them something a little extra wouldn't hurt, since they were, after all, helping with the plan.

It was hard to miss the slight look of disgust that passed through the professor's face. And it wasn't due to anything other than him being a man, Misty could tell. What man would want to leave the comforts of a cozy home to trek through snow to the local mall, where nothing would be on sale now anyways and you'd be accompanying a female who was buying presents for three older sisters?

"Don't you think it would be a bit crowded with Christmas being so soon?" replied the professor in his weak attempt to persuade her otherwise.

"I know, I really don't want to go either," said Misty, being honest about her last statement, "But, it shouldn't be too long and we can grab coffee or hot chocolate there, my treat."

The professor drained what was left of his cider. "If we hurry, then, I suppose…"

The two of them entered the mall wearing heavy winter coats and their snow boots were wet with mush from the walk. The walk over wasn't so bad, it was actually pretty, even when it began to snow lightly once again. Misty shook the light snowflakes out of her hair and suppressed a giggle as she noticed that the snowflakes that had landed on the professors' thick eyebrows gave him an eccentric look. He didn't seem to catch her reaction of him as he shook the snowflakes off him and looked to Misty for direction. Misty found it amusing that he could navigate himself around difficult scientific methods, charts, graphs, calculations and whatnot, but was clueless in a mall.

"Let's see…" mused Misty, as she walked to a map of the mall with the professor behind her, "We are by the clothing departments…"

"What were you thinking of getting your sisters?" asked Oak.

"I was thinking something for their charm bracelets," replied Misty, as she traced her finger from the red arrow that read, 'YOU ARE HERE' to the jewelry departments.

Misty turned back to Professor Oak and pointed upwards.

"The jewelry stores are on the next floor and I think I'm going to get them something from 'Gale's Jewelry'," said Misty, as she began to walk towards the escalator, "They always have cute stuff and its right beside a coffee shop."

Together, Misty and Professor Oak went up the escalator and went past the holiday crowd unnoticed, thankfully, as Misty didn't think that her acting abilities could find her an excuse as to why she was at the mall with a world renowned Pokémon expert. And she didn't think Oak could handle the attention that he normally attracted outside his lab in his fragile state. It was known far and wide that the Oak family had lost Daisy May. It would be too much for the professor, now, to be asked questions and be told statements from well-intentioned fans. Misty wondered if his new tired and older look as a result of Daisy May's death perhaps disguised him from all the attention. He hadn't been in the way of the public since her death. No one had really seen him, besides family and friends.

They walked into Gale's which did not have many costumers, thankfully. It was less of a chance for the professor to get noticed in Misty's opinion.

"May I help you?" asked an attractive blond worker with a burgundy name badge that read 'Ashley'.

"We're just looking, thank you though," answered Misty sweetly, as she and the professor began to examine all the beautiful items the store showcased.

Every design on any piece of jewelry imaginable was displayed behind the well-lit glass cases. Engagement rings, wedding rings, rings with birthstones, necklaces of diamonds and pearls, ruby and sapphire broaches, emerald eyeglass cases, gold and silver earrings-anything and everything jewelry-wise seemed to gleam out towards the costumers looking for the perfect gift for their loved one.

Misty began to look around for something for her sisters, though couldn't help but stare a bit longer than necessary at a couple of the items available. Even though she was a proud tom-boy, what diamond isn't a girl's best friend? She tried to be quick in her searching, though she noticed that the professor was looking over at another display case, lost in his own thoughts. Misty noticed that the professor had been very quiet since their arrival to the mall. She wondered if it was counted as strange to him to be among crowds again when he had for weeks been what could be considered somewhat of isolation. As she continued admiring the beautiful jewelry, one particular piece had caught her eye and its beauty had actually caused her to gasp.

Behind the display case was a simple silver necklace, but to Misty, its simplicity only added to its loveliness. On the chain was a charm of two ocean-blue water droplets that had formed around each other in such a way that it made the shape of an abstract heart. Misty was actually familiar with the design. In Cerulean City, there was a story of two friends that loved each other and Water Pokémon so much. However, there was one problem. One friend was a very old woman and the other was just a boy in his youth. Everyone only shook their heads' at the strange relationship. They would spend hours battling and talking about Pokémon, as well as listening to each other's concerns.

As the days went by, the woman got older and older and slower and slower and more and more feeble. She needed the boy's help to be able to walk to her chair on her porch where they usually sat. Her battling knowledge never weakened, though, neither did her fondness for the boy. As the days passed, the boy noticed that she needed more and more help. He never minded helping his dear friend, though it did concern him. One day, he mustered up the courage to ask her why she was getting more tired every day. She explained that when one has started to finish their journey in life, their 'get up and go' becomes all used up. That's when you know who you're true friends are, the woman was told to have said with a kind smile to the boy. A few days after he had questioned the woman, the boy became seriously ill.

When the woman heard, she demanded that she visit him at once. With the help of some of the residents and her Pokémon, she was able to see the boy as he lay in bed with a high fever. With tears in her eyes, the woman asked if she could do anything to help him. The boy was said to have mustered enough strength to smile and tell her that what she was doing was enough. He knew who his true friends were when his own 'get up and go' left him earlier than predicted. The boy passed away a few days later and the woman was crushed.

Feeling that her own time was getter shorter, she wanted to do one last thing in memory of her friend. She gathered both her and his Water Pokémon together and with a string of powerful Water type attacks, made the abstract symbol of the two water-drops that are said to swirl eternally in a small unknown lake in the woods of Cerulean. The story claimed that the woman looked at her creation, sat down next to the lake and passed away peacefully. It is said that the water drops are a symbol of the tears shed from the woman at the death of the boy, the fact that it was of water was a symbol of their love for Water Pokémon and the shape of the abstract heart represents their unusual, but true friendship that they both shared.

Though the story was just a legend, Misty had always hoped that it would one day be proven true. What a beautiful story! And what a beautiful necklace…

She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice that Professor Oak had come up behind her.

"You like it?" he asked, bringing Misty out of her thoughts.

"Oh! What, this?" she asked, pointing to the necklace, "I think it's stunning!"

Oak nodded in agreement and bent down to get a better look.

"Isn't that the same symbol from a Cerulean legend?" he asked, "Do you know what I'm talking about? The one about the boy and the old woman?"

Misty looked up at the professor in delight, "I was just thinking of that story! I'm impressed, Professor! I've never met anyone outside of Cerulean who is familiar with that story!"

Oak grinned. "I've been around, Misty. That story is a favorite of mine."

"Me too!"

The blond worker, Ashley, who had first greeted them when they entered the store came behind the counter and brought out the necklace.

"It's a beautiful piece, isn't it?" she said, holding gently in the light, and indeed the angle she was holding it under the light showed off all the hues of the blue in the stone, "This one is a personal favorite of mine."

"I love it!" said Misty excitedly as she admired it in the hand of the worker.

With a tender movement of her fingers, Ashley opened the charm in two to reveal that the charm was also a small locket.

"How neat!" Misty gasped, her eyes widening with this new found knowledge of the beloved necklace.

"May I see it, miss?" asked the professor, as he gently reached out his hand towards the woman. She willingly obliged and Oak slowly turned the piece in his hands. Misty watched him carefully, curious as to what he was doing. She was surprised when he suddenly held it up next to her face and smiled.

"The stone used for the charm matches your eyes perfectly," said Oak, looking pleased that he noticed.

Ashley nodded. "You have a good eye, sir. Are you her grandfather?"

Misty's heart skipped a beat at the comment. Ashley didn't mean anything by it, of course, but Misty was concerned how the professor would react.

Unless one spent enough time with the professor, they would've never have spotted the dark shadow that momentarily replaced the light in his eyes. Though Misty was thankful that that was all the reaction that was given to the question, it was still sad to see Professor Oak still mourning.

"I'm not her grandfather", said Professor Oak, as he turned back toward the lady and slowly handed her back the necklace. With a quick after thought, he added, "Unfortunately."

Shocked by what Misty saw as a very genuine compliment from the professor, she felt her face turn hot and quickly looked to examine a display of earrings, pretending to have not have heard the last comment. The woman tittered and returned the piece back to its spot behind the glass display case.

For a moment, Misty considered getting the necklace for herself. What's the harm in getting something for yourself every once in a while? She turned back to look at the price tag of the piece. She suppressed a groan and felt her eyes widen at the asking price for the necklace. It was way too much, especially since she was already investing money in the surprise for Professor Oak and was getting three charms for her sisters. And with it being the holiday season, she hadn't had a challenger for a while and wasn't expecting any until after New Year's. Sighing, she looked back to the cases that showed off glitzy and outrageous charms. She finally decided on three of the most "girlified" charms available. For Daisy, she got a pink jeweled cell phone charm, for Violet, a purpled jeweled sunglasses charm, and for Lily, she picked out a hot pink and silver jeweled lipstick charm. None were anything that Misty would ever like, but she was sure her sisters would be thrilled.

She turned to pay for the items and found the professor looking at another display case, his eyes taking on a distant look about them. Misty paid for the items and placed them carefully in her bag next to where Azurill was napping. She walked up quietly towards the professor, not wanting to disturb his train of thought. The display case he was looking at was of wedding bands and engagement rings. She attempted to catch his eye to see where his line of vision was taking him, but it went nowhere in particular. He seemed to be examining the display as a whole. After another moment of staring off and being silent, Oak said quietly to Misty, as to not disturb the peace, "I was married at one point in my life. Did you know that, Misty?"

"No, sir," said Misty surprised by this piece of information. Then embarrassment hit her and she continued to stare intently at the case to avoid eye contact with Professor Oak. How else did he have a son and two grandchildren? She'd only known him for a few years. She never really thought about there being a 'Mrs. Oak.'

"Yup", chuckled Oak softly, sensing her embarrassment, "Her name was Gloria. She died when Gary was just a toddler and Daisy May was about six after a second round of cancer. Though I didn't want to see her go, I was thankful that the grandkids didn't have to see her in pain for long amounts of time like she was in during her first battle with cancer before either of them was born. During the second round, she went quickly. Gary and Daisy only remember 'Fun Grandma', thankfully."

Misty merely nodded, unsure what to say. She never realized what all he went through himself, along with helping others cope with their problems, both big and small. She'd never heard of the professor having a wife and since the funeral, he hasn't even mentioned his family much and especially not Daisy May.

"And she was a lot of fun," continued Oak thoughtfully, "I called her my 'Glorious Sunshine' and joked how she brought light into this nerds' dark study hall."

Misty giggled. She never imagined the professor talking about someone else that way, nor had she ever thought that he viewed himself as a 'nerd'. It did seem appropriate, now that he mentioned it…

Oak continued, a smile forming on his worn face as he continued to study the rings on display, "'Sunshine' is a great description of her, actually. No matter how bad a day you have, you go to bed that night expecting a new day tomorrow. The sun hides behind a cloud, waiting to the storm to blow over. It bides its time, knowing that it has to be patient to be the most effective. It warms you up and no matter how many 'cloudy' days you have, you long for sunshine and you know that it'll come and everything will get better. That's her exactly. When we had our cloudy days, and we most certainly did, I could always count on my Sunshine to be strong. When I came home after a long day of studying or work, she warmed me up with just a look from her. Always so positive! I needed that Misty. I really did. She always said I was too logical. I thought she always had her head in the clouds. But we were a perfect pair, even when we were kids. She was my Sunshine even before we were married. She befriended me when my father died when I was a young child, encouraged me during my Pokémon journey. When my mother fell ill and died when I was a teenager, she was always there to bring a bit of light into the house. When we were married and could barely make ends meet with my salary from teaching, she always laughed and said that that only meant that she had to get creative with meals. When our first child was stillborn, her light was still shining. Not as bright, but it was still there. Oh, how we rejoiced so much when Peter was born and was a healthy baby! Then I became depressed when I lost my first teaching job and had great difficulty finding another. She was always positive and we rejoiced greatly again when I started teaching at Celadon U. When the League rejected my theory of Mew and the beginnings of the Poke'Dex and so much more, she encouraged me to, and I quote, 'Badger them 'til they set guards up to stop you, and even then, Sammie, bug them to death until they look into your work!' For little things, she was my Sunshine. When I worked late into the night, she'd come in and bring me some tea. When I fell asleep during my work, she'd gently wake me and put me to bed", Oak gave a chuckle, "She even corrected some of work research, believe it or not! She wasn't just bright emotionally, but mentally as well."

Oak gave a small sigh and continued.

"When she first got cancer, I thought it was my turn to bring her some of the sunshine that she had brought into my life. How foolish to think that! I'll admit it; I'm not nearly as strong as she was. Not even close, even in her weaker states. She ended up pouring more into me and really showing me how to live. And that attitude allowed her to beat that cancer the first time. When she got better, life seemed to really be looking up. Daisy May was born and we got to spoil her, then Gary. Then the cancer came back, worse this time. She finally just looked at me a few days after the news and said 'I'm tired this time, Sammie'. I understood, though it hurt so badly. She passed away peacefully in her sleep one night. I was even with her. It was as if a great burden was lifted from her."

It took every fiber in Misty's being not to gasp and ask a billion questions. Who knew about all this? Why was he telling her? Curiosity was also hitting Misty. She wanted to hear more about his wife. Were they seriously childhood sweethearts? How cute! How long were they married? Was he really orphaned as a teenager? What happened to his parents? Was he really as logical and introverted as he claimed to be? Did his wife have something to do with his supposed change in personality? Did he really lose his first teaching job? And Peter wasn't their first child, but their first was a stillborn? How awful! His wife really corrected his work? And did the League seriously refused his work, him, THE Professor Oak?

Misty stared at him, not sure what to do. Did he expect her to comment of his sudden life story? Not that she minded listening, it was just so shocking. Everything that she and the Pokémon World knew about Professor Oak was suddenly dramatically changed in about the span of two minutes.

Oak looked back at her, his eyes looking both tired and full of light, a small smile still on his face. He raised his eyebrows a bit expectantly and laughed softly.

"Gloria always said that I had a habit of being too talkative when I get sentimental at times…you OK, Misty?"

Misty blinked and managed weakly, "Yes, sir. Just a bit surprised. I wasn't expecting anything like that…"

Oak, looking a bit embarrassed, replied sheepishly, "You shouldn't have had to expect any of that. I just got carried away looking at the rings and all…my sincerest apologies, Misty."

"Don't apologize! There's no reason to be sorry, Professor. But, I am curious…why tell me now?"

Oak smiled thoughtfully, as he turned to look back at the rings.

"It was just looking at these weddings bands, I suppose. It brought back a lot of great memories. I still have our wedding bands-Gloria and I's. I have them in safe keeping at the lab."

Misty paused for a second, unsure of what to say. This was so surreal. She looked up at the professor and flashed him a brilliant smile, "I'd love to hear more about Gloria. If you don't mind of course", she added hastily.

Oak smiled the most sincere smile Misty had seen since Daisy May's death.

"I'd love to share about her, Misty."

They both left the store and headed to a small coffee shop, where Misty ordered a hot chocolate and Oak got a specialty coffee. Despite Misty's refusal, Oak insisted upon paying for the drinks, which he did. They found a quiet booth in the back of the shop and settled there. Misty blew across her hot chocolate a bit to cool it off some and took a small sip.

Oak looked across the booth at Misty studying her. He desperately hoped that he didn't shock her too much.

He took a sip of his coffee. "So, were you a bit surprised, Misty?"

"More than a bit, I think", said Misty shaking her head, "I just didn't realize all the stuff you told me, like your wife, though it really should've made sense to me way before now."

Oak laughed at the comment. "Yeah, I really can't think of any other way of how to have Peter without her…"

Misty snorted into her hot chocolate. Professor! Did he really just make a factious comment like that? Her grabbed a napkin and dabbed her chin where the hot chocolate dripped and looked back up at the man. Who was he? To the Pokémon World, he was the highly intelligent and kindly, old Professor Oak. He liked tea and poetry and lived a quiet and eccentric life at the Oak Lab in simple little Pallet Town, Kanto. Occasionally he spoke on a radio talk show or gave an interview, but it was always over Pokémon. The man sitting there before her seemed nothing like the Professor Oak that everyone was familiar with. It was strange. Did he play the character of the jolly professor, or did he just feel the need to keep his private life just that-private? Why talk now? Did Daisy May's death bring up much more than coping with her death, but also other pains he felt? Where to begin in this?

"So…," began Misty slowly, "What was Gloria like? Was she pretty?"

"Beautiful", answered Oak, "So beautiful. She was a replica of Daisy May, actually. Except her hair. Her hair was long and straight like Daisy May's, but was jet black. She didn't have bangs or layers like Daisy May, it was all one length. Besides that, facial structure was the same, same smile; same figure, same voice and laugh….oh, and their eyes were different, too. Daisy May got her eye color from her mother. Gloria's eyes were this dark blue color. It was like the deep end of the ocean. I sorta wished that her eye color was inherited. After Peter was born, we learned a few years later that we couldn't have any more children and Peter had inherited my dark brown eyes. When Peter and Bianca, his wife, were expecting Daisy May and Gary, I secretly hoped one of them would get Gloria's unique eye color. But Daisy May ended up with her mother's light brown eyes and Gary got the dark eyes from Peter and me. Not that I'm complaining, I think all of them turned out fine."

Misty nodded, inwardly very pleased that Professor Oak was beginning to talk about Daisy May without looking so sad. She wanted to press forward, but wanted to do so gently as to not bring him back to the state he was before he started talking to her about his family.

"You really knew each other when you were both children?" asked Misty, "How did that happen?"

"Her parents moved to Pallet Town when we were about four. Her parents were gardeners who died when we were pre-teens in a fire when lightning struck their greenhouse while they were working. Thankfully, she was with her grandmother visiting when that happened, so she wasn't injured."

"She didn't have any siblings?"

Oak shook his head 'no'.

"That makes you both only children, right?"

"Wrong."

Misty furrowed her brow. "Huh?"

Oak took another drink of his coffee and continued. "I'm the middle of two other brothers. Didn't you know that, Misty?"

This was getting to be too much for the young red head. "Wait-_two brothers_? Since when do you have two brothers?"

"Since forever, I suppose", laughed Oak, "Learning a lot today, Misty? Now I'm a little surprised. I thought people knew about Jeremiah and Isaac."

Misty thought for a second. "Wait", she began slowly, "'Jeremiah'? 'Isaac'? And your name is 'Samuel'. Those are all biblical names. Was that on purpose?"

"Yup," laughed the professor again, "The joke was that the Oak family was full of prophets. My father's name was 'Eli', who was, ironically, the one in the Old Testament who helped to raise Samuel. My mother's name was 'Hannah', who was, another irony, the mother of Samuel. The Oaks' have a long line of biblical names'. It ended with Gary and Daisy May, though. Peter and Bianca wanted to name the two of them after some relatives on Bianca's side. Though Gary does have my middle name, 'Vernon' and 'May' was Gloria's middle name. I like the names, personally."

"You're the middle brother, you said? By how many years a part? And what about your brothers? Where are they now?" asked Misty, her dying curiosity showing through.

"Jeremiah is the oldest by five years and Isaac is the youngest by four years", said Oak, "Neither one of them really got into the Pokémon field like I did. I mean, we grew up around Pokémon and all, as our father was a rancher. Father, who died after being caught up in a Rhyhorn stampede, ingrained in us all a love for Pokémon. We even all became Pokémon Trainers. I received Charmander, Jeremiah chose Bulbasaur and Isaac got Squirtle when it was our time to pick our first Pokémon. I was the only one who stuck with it. Isaac managed to get four badges and Jeremiah did receive all eight badges from Kanto, but I received all eight badges from Kanto, as well as those from Jhoto, along with competing and placing in the Pokémon League Competition of both regions, along with the Orange Island League. Jeremiah, being the eldest, was always so serious. He loved Pokémon and all, but he's all business. Going out into the wilderness and training Pokémon just wasn't for him and he knew that a few weeks into his journey as a ten year old. He's not a quitter though. He did get all the badges for Kanto before retiring in his Pokémon career. After he completed his journey, he came back home and worked odd jobs constantly. He's always working, that Jeremiah. He worked and finished his education in Pallet, then went on to Vermillion University, where his years of all work and no play landed him a scholarship and the money he saved up from all his working paid all of his other expenses. He never asked for a dime out of any of the family, not to mention that he worked full time as a waiter during his first years at the university. In fact, a frequent costumer of his was a well-to-do banker in Vermillion and noticed how hard Jeremiah worked and got him a good job at his bank. That job later helped Jeremiah get some very high up connections. He got into politics and later became major of Pallet. He did a lot for the community. He just recently retired and is now limiting his work to some charities. Jeremiah now lives on the outskirts of Pallet, which is a private high end community."

Misty had heard of there being a couple of well-to-do families living in the private outskirts of Pallet, but never had reason to believe that they were there until today.

"Does Jeremiah have any family?" asked Misty.

"A wife, Camilla, and three sons, Matthew, Mark and Luke", said Oak, "All of them living the typical Pokémon World dream. A bit boring to me, personally, but there is no denying that they each worked hard to get to that status."

"Are his sons married? Do they have any kids?" asked Misty, eager to hear more.

"All of them are married. Matthew married Donna from Celadon. They met at the same university I taught at. Matthew went on to become a lawyer in Hoenn and Donna went into real estate. They now live in Rustboro City and have a fifteen year old son, Jonathan, and eleven year old twins, Micah and Tabitha. Mark went to Opelucid University in the Unova region to study technology and met his wife, Ella. He works at some high class computer lab in that same city and Ella is a housewife. They have a fourteen year old daughter, Naomi, and a ten year old son, Zach. Luke got a degree from Cianwood College in the Jhoto region and works as a high class banker Viridian City. His wife, Flo, is also a stay-at-home-mom. They have an eight year old daughter, Rebekah, another daughter, Alexa, who is twelve and their eldest son is sixteen, James."

"And Isaac?"

"Ah, the little brother!" mused Oak, grinning, "The name 'Isaac' suits him well. It means 'laughter', and that's typically what's he's doing. A real honest and laid back guy, that Isaac. He never got into battling because he hated watching his Pokémon get hurt and the high society life that Jeremiah got into wasn't for him either. It's just too serious. When he came back home from his Pokémon journey, he began working part-time at the post office doing grunt work like mopping and dusting. They later move him to the front desk, which he loved. He's real social, hates being alone. After a few years of that, they had him be an official mailman. In other words, he got to actually deliver the letters that he sorted. I thought it suited his social personality perfectly, but Jeremiah couldn't stand it. Well, he couldn't stand my low-income teaching job, either…really into making the big bucks, Jeremiah, and he never really understood doing something for the sake of loving to do it. Sure Jeremiah wasn't exactly dining on steaks every evening with the income he made during his time as a waiter and he knew that. He always preached about starting from the bottom and making it to the top. He just didn't understand why my idea of 'top' involved hours of painstaking research and study just to get a result that involved more studying and research, along with taking in poor college assistants. And he definitely didn't understand why Isaac was so thrilled to be out and about every morning (except Sunday's, of course) going door to door delivering mail, whistling and talking with everyone with no plans of going any further, career-wise. Which he did, by the way. After many more years, they promoted him to head post master and he got to run the mail of Pallet. Very prominent job, good pay too, but he still delivered the mail when he could. He just loved interacting with the people so much. He and his wife, Gwen, live in a nice home on the opposite outskirts of Pallet. They have five kids; Terry, Tanya, Belinda, Bruce and Taylor. Terry is a shrink out in Fuschia City and is married to Heather, who is a high school math teacher. They have three kids, Mary (who is nineteen), and twins, Calvin and Victor (who are seventeen). Tanya married Ivan, who works as an electrician in Mauville City, and she is a secretary at the same electric company. They have three girls; Emma (who is fifteen), Lindsey (who is thirteen) and Zoe (who is nine). Belinda is a counselor at the school in Saffron City. Her husband owns a shop there and they also have three children; Joy (she's ten), Tristan (he just turned six), and Roy, the baby of the family. He'll be two this March. Bruce is a doctor in Striaton City and his wife, Lanie, is a school teacher there. They have three children as well; Monty, who is nine, Joey, who is four, and Sarah, who is three. Taylor, being the youngest, is still looking for 'Mr. Right', so she doesn't have any kids yet. She still lives in Pallet and commutes to Vermillion for college."

Misty's head was spinning and swimming in a mental pool of all the knowledge that she had just learned about from Professor Oak. He had family? And a good sized family, too, by the sounds of it. And he knew all these details about every one of them? Where they went to school, who his nieces and nephews married, their kid's names and ages…she was lucky to be called the right name during the rare times that she, her parents and her sister were home. By the way he sounded when he talked about them, he could probably rattle off any other bits of information about them, if she so desired to ask him to do so. She bet he knew everything about them; where they were married, how old they were when they got engaged, food allergies, etc., etc.

"Sounds like you're kinda the odd ball in the bunch, Professor", said Misty, "Well, you and Gary. You both are in the Pokémon business."

"I enjoy being the odd ball", stated Oak with a smile that gave off a sense of pride, "And my son is in the Pokémon business too, per se. He's an archeologist Pokémon researcher. Not as public as my work, but crucial nonetheless. Daisy May also loved Pokémon. I know that you know that she had her house open as a guest home for Trainers to rest and get them and their Pokémon cleaned up, but she was also a part-time Coordinator and an assistant of mine. Nothing professional, but she enjoyed it."

Misty nodded and took another sip of her drink, carefully contemplating how she was going to ask the next question burning within her without causing an awkward moment.

"With so much family", said Misty slowly, "Isn't it a bit odd that you aren't with them during this time?"

Oak knew exactly what she was asking and he looked down into his half drunken cup of coffee. Misty desperately hoped that she didn't offend him. After a moment of silence, she heard him sigh and look up at her.

"I suppose that's fault on everyone," began Oak gradually, "Her death was just so shocking and sudden, we did all we could to get a funeral arranged ASAP. Things like that are simpler for older individuals who have already made such arrangements, but what do you do for a sixteen year old with her life ahead of her, whom we all intended to live until we older ones were gone? She had no plans, no arrangements if something happened to her. We just all got caught up in plans and arrangements that when the funeral ended and guests stopped coming, reality truly hit home for us all. Daisy May really wasn't going to come back. We weren't going to see her laugh or smile on this side of Heaven. And with a mindset like that, it's easy to become selfish and forget about others, much less comforting your own family. Everyone left back to their own homes to tend to their own family and grief, which left me alone in my lab. Don't get me wrong, my brothers and son and other close friends of mine tried to comfort me, but when it came down to it, I was still alone in my lab. They offered to take me in for a little while, but I didn't want to be a bother. I tried to say it was for the best and that I'd only get in the way. I tried to act as though the deed was a noble one, but that's something about adults, Misty. The older you get, the more you understand what people expect you to say with the intentions behind it. I'm particularly knowledgeable in this area since I'm in the public eye so often. When I gave excuses as to why I would just stay at the lab, people took my deed for my word; that I truly did have work and didn't want to be a bother. Truth was I was selfish. I didn't want to let anyone comfort me or allow myself to comfort others. As you've heard, I've had my share of death. Before Gloria died, it was not any easier to deal with these deaths, but it was manageable with her at my side. When she died, I was sure I was going to go insane. My Sunshine was gone. Who was going to comfort me? Thankfully, she had left me with a sense of peace about her passing. It was no easier getting into a new swing of things, though. The saying 'You can't teach an old Arcanine new tricks' would have definitely have applied to me during this time. Waking up alone in bed, fending for myself during meals…I still have a bad habit of setting the table for two when it's just me in the lab. But, can you blame me? We have known each other for nearly our entire lives. We were married for…oh, my, how long was it Sammie? Was it really nearly forty years of marriage? Once I had managed some sort of a new routine, things got better. But when Daisy May died, it hit me hard and it was mostly because my Sunshine wasn't there to help this time. And Daisy May was so much like Gloria that when she died, it was as if Gloria had died again."

Misty looked down into her cup, trying to hide the fact that her eyes were beginning to fill with tears. Who know about this? Family and close friends, obviously, but did they really understand? She began to question the man that she once thought was Professor Oak, who she now just dubbed "outer layer Oak". Was "outer layer Oak" ever truly that happy and go lucky as he seemed, or was it an act to ensure that no one would worry about him?

Misty took a breath not sure where to begin, so she decided with the obvious question, "Why doesn't anyone know about any of this?"

Much to her surprise, Oak blinked confusingly at this remark.

"It wasn't as if I was hiding this information from the world, Misty," said Oak, "Honestly, I thought people knew more about the man behind the lab coat," he chuckled at his own joke and Misty grinned, "Like my wife. Granted, we were married and she had passed before I really became famous, but I assumed people would take a hint really. And both my brothers had made the top news before, too. Not to extent as I have, obviously, but I thought it was enough for people outside of Pallet who didn't know to put two and two together. Some things, yes, not a lot of people know about, like Gloria and I having a stillborn, for example. And about my parents, too. Only my brothers, family and a couple of people who were there to remember those instances, like Agatha, David Rowan and Charlie Goodshow, truly know about that."

"Who are David Rowan and Charlie Goodshow?" asked Misty, though the names had sparked a feeling of déjà vu.

Oak raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Professor Rowan of the Sinnoh Region and President Goodshow of the Indigo League, of course, Misty! You didn't know that we knew each other when we were all Trainers?"

Misty shook her head 'no' and replied, "Not really, sir. I mean, I knew you and Agatha were long-time rivals and all and I knew that you and Professor Rowan knew each other for a long time too , but I didn't know about President Goodshow and I didn't think that all of you knew one another since you were Trainers…"

Oak sighed and shook his head. After another sip of his coffee, he continued.

"I really ought to write a book or something…I mean I know I never wanted to be at the forefront of the public eye, but this is ridiculous…Well, it's obvious that Agatha and I were rivals. She never lets me forget, or anyone else for that matter. And you better believe that if she hears that I'm in her neighborhood or vice versa, she's going to want to challenge me to a battle. As for Rowan, we crossed paths a good bit as Trainers and even more so when we both went into Pokémon research. Goodshow was a Trainer, too, and we both crossed paths a good bit as well. In fact, all ended up competing against each other in the Indigo League. That's actually when news of my mother got to me was right before a battle."

"What happened?" asked Misty, who both wanted to hear more, yet hated how childish and eager her voice sounded.

"It was my first time competing in the League", began Oak, "All of our first times'-Agatha, Rowan, Goodshow and I. We were all about fifteen. You see, back in those days, a League for each region only had a competition every few years. Each region planned their competition at separate years so Trainers who qualified could make it to more than one, if they so desired. And as proud as I am that Ash had made it into so many different League competitions, it was much harder to become accepted to compete in a League when I was a Trainer. And they only accepted a certain number of Trainers, too. Even if you did have eight badges, you still had to go through certain qualifications to get in. Just to be in that group meant you were a cut above your average Trainer. To actually get top ten really meant something. It took us all so long to get in because of those qualifications. By the time that I was accepted in, I had already earned over ten badges, which was more than Rowan and Goodshow, but Agatha was tied with me during our entire journey. In my opinion, she should've qualified at least two years before the rest of us, but the League just wouldn't let her compete. They gave a couple of corny excuses, but we all knew that it was because she was a girl. Pokémon business back in my day was pretty biased-"

"Wait, Agatha couldn't compete because she was girl?" interrupted Misty in outrage. The sudden outburst caused some costumers in the shop, as well as a few workers to look their way. Misty blushed. She had gotten so wrapped up in Professor Oak's story that she had completely forgotten that they were still at a coffee shop in the mall.

Oak waited until the costumers and workers continued what they were doing before he continued his story. "Shocked again, Misty? The League never right out said anything, but we all knew that that was the case. There were even some gyms at Agatha couldn't compete in because the Leader refused to be challenged by a girl. She got her badges out of order because of this. It took us guys four years before we had gotten accepted into the League, and that was just because we didn't qualify. After the first year, Agatha wasn't accepted because she really couldn't make the cut. She was very close, though. She went off and trained even harder in Jhoto and got a few badges. Tried again a year later at another League, refused her again, and this time, we knew the real case. That's when she went and trained all around Kanto. Didn't collect any badges, just trained in Kanto. The League refused her a third time. After that, she went to the mountainous regions and trained like a maniac in near seclusion for another year. I'm pretty sure that the only reason she managed to go through all that was because she was fueled by her anger of the injustice that was being shown to her and her passion for Pokémon. Finally, the Indigo League couldn't refuse her that time. She was just too good and she made it very apparent. You should really thank Agatha that you even have your Gym Leader position, Misty. She was the one that started the movement for equal treatment for both male and female Trainers. Anywho, when she was finally accepted into the competition, that was also the same year Goodshow, Rowan and I qualified. But, back to my mother…she had always been a more ill and fragile woman, especially after my father died so suddenly. I entered the League with her blessing. She was unable to attend because she was sick again. I tossed around the idea of quitting and going back (I was top sixteen by that time), but she assured me that her sister and my brothers were taking good care of her and promised that she would listen to every match of mine on the radio and cheer me on every step of the way. I continued the match thinking it was just another one of her illnesses. How wrong I was. As I began to toss my first Pokémon out into my top eight competition match, an errand boy ran out onto the field and had the referee stop the match. The boy whispered something to the referee and ran off the field. The referee called time and came up and informed me that my mother had just died. Devastated, I ran off the field. You see, Misty, back in those days, it was considered disrespectful for a Trainer to battle so soon after a love one had died. They gave me the option of rescheduling the match. I'm a little old fashioned, so I stuck with tradition and took myself out of the competition. The judges were generous, though. When a person takes themselves out of a competition, they usually reorganize the line-up so that that person loses their position. They just counted my drop-out as a loss, so I was still top eight that year. I competed the next year along with Rowan, who made it to top ten the first year, and Agatha, who got to top five the previous year. Goodshow is about fifteen or twenty years older than the rest of us and he is really not that great as a Trainer. He prefers watching battles. The first time he even qualified for the League was also the same time the rest of us did and by that time, he'd been a Trainer for years. And he didn't even get nearly as far as the rest of us-he got to top 100 before he lost. He tried to improve his battling skills, but he just wasn't cut out for it. When we entered again, he was a referee for the matches, which later led him to become president of the Indigo League. So, that was what he was doing while the rest of us competed. Agatha and I tied for third and it about killed us both. We both would have rather have lost to another Trainer than tied with each other," Oak chortled at the remark and continued, "Rowan went on to Pokémon research after making top fifteen that year. Didn't surprise me, to be honest. Rowan was always the serious type like my older brother. He was also a bit older than us, too, by about ten years. Battling just wasn't for him and he realized that during that competition. The next year, Agatha and I competed again. This time, she got third and I placed second. The next year, the positions switched. Then at the next competition, I placed first and Agatha got runner-up. That was also when I realized my love for research and study, as well as my affection for Gloria. That was my last competition and when Agatha found out, it was as if I threw cold water on her. Her rival was gone. She ended up getting every badge known to man and Pokémon-kind and finally placed first at the next competition after I ended my Trainer career. After several more years, she made it to the Elite Four and is now the Gym Leader at the Viridian City Gym. But I don't think she had truly forgiven me for not staying as a Trainer until recently."

Misty nodded and remembered how much had changed in her own short life. Performing with her sisters, life on the road with Ash and now the Gym Leader of the Cerulean Gym….and she was barely out of fourteen.

Ash.

She could relate to Agatha, in a sense. When Professor Oak quit Pokémon training and went to a life of studying and raising a family, Agatha had lost her rival; her drive. She was probably jealous of the life he was leading; jealous that he had picked something else over their rivalry, and so easily too. When she was forced to maintain the gym, jealousy hit her when Ash found another travelling companion, May. Then it was Dawn. Now Iris. It would've been one thing if he had just gotten another guy to tag along with him, which he did, but_ girls_? She had thought what they had was special and he just replaced her so quickly…she knew that he probably thought nothing of it and had probably had still not realized that she cared for him as a bit more than a friend, but still….

Guys could be clueless sometimes…

"Thinking about Ash?"

Professor Oak's comment snapped her out of her reverie. She looked up to see that the professor's face had softened and he had something of an understanding in his eyes. Misty blushed at the comment and took another sip of her dwindling hot chocolate.

"I'll take your aversion to my question to mean 'yes'," said Oak softly as Misty shyly looked up at him.

"How'd you know?"

Oak smiled a little wider at the question.

"It's the same expression most usually take on when they think about someone who is very special to them. An expression of calm, happiness, contentment, nostalgia…I know a lot about that expression, Misty. And my advice to you is to give it time; he'll come around."

"But he's already replaced me!" exclaimed Misty looking intently at the professor.

Oak shook his head. "He doesn't see getting other females to travel with him as replacing you. He views it more as having more friends. You're the reason he stuck with Pokémon training, in my opinion. Take it from me; the first six months are the hardest for Trainers. Most of the Trainers that come through my lab have a 50/50 chance of leaving Pokémon training within the first year. The chance of continuing for years to come, as Ash has, then drops to a one in four chance. You challenged and encouraged him and gave him a good knock on the head to get some reason into him every once and a while. With all the cheerleaders Gary had after him, where are they now? Nowhere to be found. To me, you're more valuable than any of those high class cheerleaders any day. And Ash knows that, too."

Misty blinked. "You really think so, Professor Oak?"

"Absolutely."

"Thanks, Professor", beamed Misty.

"No, Misty, thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end of Chapter 7

OK, so that went into a completely opposite direction than what I had previously intended. I am pleased with the results and I hope that you are too. The story about the old woman and the boy came completely from my imagination and has never been mentioned in Pokémon before. And, yes, Pokeshipping has a special place in my heart, as I am a true fan who says Kanto and Jhoto were the best seasons hands down. And I know nothing about the Sinnoh and Unova regions, as I think that they are complete crap. Unova more than Sinnoh. Sorry, gang. With that being said, for those of you who actually do like and pay attention to the Sinnoh and Unova stuff, would you mind messaging me if I make a mistake on a fact from those regions? I do my research, but I'm more likely to get something wrong from those regions than I am from the Kanto, Jhoto and Hoenn regions. Thanks! And as for Oak's life story, some of you older fans may recognize some stuff from the good ol' days. In the games, Agatha always mentions Oak being a former rival of her's, the description I gave to Gloria (by the way, his wife has never been mentioned in any of the games or whatnot, I made her up, but it does make sense!) comes from Oak's granddaughter, May, from the Viz Comics _Pokemon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu _and _Pokemon: Pikachu Shocks Back_, both by Toshihiro Ono. And yes, the Daisy May from this fic is described as Oak's granddaughter from the manga. I combined the names given to Oak's granddaughter when she does make an appearance in the games or the comics….May or Daisy, which is it gonna be, people? The bits about Goodshow and Rowan were made up, too, but Rowan has been mentioned to have known Oak for a long time in the anime, so who knows…For those who are hardcore fans, you're probably familiar with Bulbagarden, which is a site which gives you the Wikipedia on all things Pokémon. It's been a great help as I research some of my characters, like Oak. The idea of giving Oak two brothers with their perspective jobs comes from this site, while I invented their names', personalities and families. Oak's Trainer career was also made up, but I think I did a fair job guessing. Same goes for Agatha and the parts about the Pokémon business being biased against girls. Yeah, I came up with that, you won't find it anywhere else. All the details about Oak's life are of my own invention save for his work on the Poke'Dex, the discovery of Mew, and anything else that wasn't obvious. I made up his son and wife, too, but that was because it only made sense. Oh, and Daisy May working in the lab came from the manga and her being a Coordinator was my idea.

I say all this to bring about two points: I'm obsessed with details and I don't want to confuse some of you who actually believe what I'm writing. Yeah, some of it is based off the games and whatnot, but a lot of it is from me. It's kinda like unofficial pics of new Pokémon coming out or something like that. Unless you know, you're very likely going to believe it. Why? Because it's on the Internet. And I hate it when that happens. This chapter included a lot of details and background, which is why I'm going over it. Point two: If I see any other fanfiction on here or anywhere else that took my well thought out story line of these characters, I will find you and feed you to my pet Charizard.

Alright, enough chit-chat, time to review!

~MastermindMedley10


	8. MistyNAPPED!

Chapter eight is considerably shorter than the previous chapters, and for good reason: I hated writing it. But, I am pretty please with it, and hopefully you readers will enjoy it. A little bit of 'T' stuff here, but if I tell you anything about it here it'll ruin the chapter, so just consider this your warning, minus the details. Oh, and yes, I took the title idea from the Pokémon Chronicles episode "Oak-Napped!". Enjoy!~

Ch. 8: Misty-NAPPED!

As Professor Oak continued to stay at the Cerulean Gym for a few more days, Misty began to notice changes in him. Good changes.

He was looking less tired, eating more, smiling easier and laughing more often. He seemed to really be enjoying his time with the Pokémon, and even gave Misty a few battling tips during their exercise. Brock had come over one evening and cooked meatloaf with mashed potatoes, green beans, corn and dinner rolls. While Misty was glad in a food change from instant soups, sandwiches and take out, Professor Oak seemed doubly thankful as he took seconds of Brock's cooking, including dessert, which was pumpkin pie. He had shared stories with the two young Gym Leaders of his days as a Trainer, which got gasps and plenty of laughs from his young audience.

Even Oak knew that he was doing better. The nightmares were still there, but far less frequent and less vivid. He spoke more of Daisy May without feeling grim, and indeed, he now wanted to talk more about his granddaughter. And helping out at the gym was a bonus for him; with the work at his lab having grown significantly less during his days of mourning, it felt good to the professor to be useful again.

He had also grown fond of Misty during the past few days at the gym. Sure, he'd always thought highly of her before, but as he watched her interact with her Pokémon and run the daily operations of a fully functioning gym, he was impressed by the young red-head. She was much more mature than other girls her age. And she had a heart of gold. He began to suspect that the real reason she asked him to stay over was to cheer him up. And she did. And despite her usually attire of jeans, an over-sized light yellow sweater, pink jacket and light blue boots and her hair in its usual side pony-tail, he saw beauty in her. Sure, he'd thought of her as 'cute' before for a teeny-bopper on the road, but as he watched her handle calls to the gym and settle disputes between her three older sisters over the phone over silly scenarios, that beauty shone through. And when the morning light shone through the high windows of the gym one morning during the daily mopping of the arena, it hit Misty in such a way that it made Oak stop and study her for a moment. During that moment, with the light shining off her bright red hair and the water from the pool reflecting off her eyes, which were focused at the task at hand, she wasn't a carefree teen girl to Oak, but rather a hard-working and stunningly beautiful young woman.

"_Ash really needs to get with the program",_ Oak had thought to himself as he smiled and continued his section of the mopping.

Misty, too, was really enjoying having the professor around more than she would've thought previously. Being the 'ugly Ducklett' to three older and talented sisters usually left her being forgotten at family functions and events. And when her parents and sisters were around, it often seemed like everyone was fussing over one of her sisters and left Misty to do the grunt work. Not that she minded grunt work (which included cleaning the gym, caring for the Pokémon, etc., etc.), but it would be nice to get a little recognition some times, or at least get noticed. She had always been a tom-boy who never minded hard work and had never been much for getting public attention. She never got into the glitz and glamor of her sisters, or the show business lifestyle of her parents. Frankly, she never understood it, and even as a child, she knew that she would never be anything like a model, like each of her sisters was. Having Professor Oak around also meant private attention that she often craved from her own parents, who she really couldn't remember spending time alone with them in years. Professor Oak never minded playing the 'substitute parent', or rather 'grandparent', in this situation. He was sensitive to her desire for affection and he willingly complied, as it reminded him of the times he and Daisy May spent together. He complimented her during her training sessions with her Pokémon at the gym, teased her when she managed to burn Pop-Tarts, and they chatted long about all sorts of things; topics ranging from Pokémon, to worldviews and even occasionally, boys. 

They had truly become rather good friends during their time at the gym.

Misty crawled into bed one evening with her Azurill by her side and flicked off the lamp on her bed stand. She giggled over a joked that Professor Oak had told during dinner that evening and let her thoughts linger on the plans she had made with the help of so many others. Her thoughts then lead her into a deep and restful sleep.

Misty awoke with a fright and attempted to scream, but was stopped by a heavy and leather gloved bound hand. Her eyes widened and her heart began to beat rapidly as she felt another set of heavy arms pin her to her mattress.

_What was happening to her?_

"Pipe down, cutie. You're gonna wake the ol' professor."

The greasy voice came in a soft, but piercing whisper from the man who had his hand over her mouth. Misty was unable to gag at the weighty smell of cigarette smoke on his breath as tears filled her eyes and sweat came from her brow. He sat her up and she felt the other set of hands bind her arms from behind her back forcibly. She attempted to fight, but it was no use. She was too weak.

"_What's happening to me?" _thought Misty again in desperation, as she took in the sight of the guy with his hand over her mouth. He was a large, broad guy with shoulder-length thin and greasy red hair, which was covered in a black bandana. He had stubble on his chin and a scar on his meaty throat. A silver hoop hung in his left eyebrow and his teeth were yellow and pointed. He wore a long sleeved gray and purple stripped sweater and a floor length leather coat. Chains hung off his baggy black jeans and his dark boots were covered in mush. Misty was terrified of him.

"Listen, cutie," said the guy again, his breath making Misty's stomach churn, "We're going on a trip and you best not struggle. Not that it'd do you any good. And no worries about keeping quiet. I'm going make sure you don't make a peep."

With that remark, he brought out another bandana from his coat pocket with his free hand and quickly and roughly tied and gagged it around Misty's mouth. The sweat from his hands caused Misty to tremble uncontrollably. Her other captor stood behind the broad guy and watched with a look of cruel pleasure on his thin, pale, pointed face. He was shorter than the one who had gagged Misty. He was rail thin and his clothes, which consisted of a brown sweater and baggy jeans, seemed much too large for his frame. A worn knitted cap was firmly on his head and his beat up tennis shoes were also covered with snow mush.

Tears were running down Misty's face as questions flew from her mind. What was going on? Who were they? What did they want?

_Did they get Professor Oak too?_

Misty prayed that that wasn't the case, but at the same time, she hoped that he was up so he could help her.

Her larger captor forced her to her feet and pushed her out of her room and down the hallway towards the back door. She resisted, but with a violent shove from her captors, she was forced ahead. Her captor jerked her to a stop at Professor Oak's room.

Misty attempted to scream, but it was useless. The material in her mouth muffled the sound. That, and the professor was fast asleep and Misty could see why. Hovering over his bed was the large, purple moth Pokémon, Venomoth. And judging by the yellow powder in the professor's bed, it had just performed Sleep Powder. There was no way the professor could help her now.

"That's just to show you that you're helpless, Red!" the second captor laughed menacingly as the broad captor motioned for the Venomoth to follow them. They continued to force Misty down the hall, out the door, across the snow fallen yard and into the back of a white van in pit blackness. Misty struggled and screamed in the back of the moving van until she could hardly move and her throat was burning. Tears continued to stream down her face as she lay down as comfortably as she could on the cold metal floor of the van, shaking from fright and chill.

She began to pray for a way out until she somehow managed to drift off to sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end of Chapter 8

Weren't expecting THAT, were ya'? Yeah, thought that this was some silly, tear jerking Pokémon Christmas, kiddie fanfic, huh? Well, the action will continue, just stay tuned!

~MastermindMedley10


	9. Rescue Mission

OK, here she is: Ch. 9. Hopefully, you guys will enjoy.~

Ch. 9: Rescue Mission 

Professor Oak woke with a start, despite the groggy feeling that threatened to hold back his consciousness. He didn't know much, but he did recognize the feeling as one caused by being drugged somehow. He also knew that something terrible had happened, but he couldn't quite remember what. He sat up quickly, too quickly for his numb limbs.

_Misty…That's right! It was something to do with Misty! Have to check on her…_

A sharp pain in his head momentarily blinded him and he groaned, trying to make his body cooperate. He fumbled out of his bed and fell to the ground. Another sharp pain overcame him and he doubled over, a cry escaping from his numb libs. The pain was stronger this time and darkness threatened to settle over him once more. He knew enough that time and rest were the only healers in his state, but he knew somehow that he must hurry.

_Misty's…in trouble…g-got to hurry…_

He shakily stood up and clung to the bed post for support. His mind was slowly becoming unclouded. This feeling he was experiencing…he knew it, he'd experienced it before…be what was it?

"_Sleep Powder!" _The old professor realized with a start, _"Followed by Stun Spore…but how?"_

He looked to the bedroom door. It was open and muddy, wet foot prints were tracked across the navy carpet. By the looks of it, it had been a few hours since they have been made. Oak made his way clumsily to the door and leaned on the frame for support.

Oak's heart skipped a beat as he realized that there were not only one set of prints, but two. And both went into and out of the direction of Misty's room.

He commanded his legs to run, _begged_ them to, to be more precise, but the best that could be done in his current condition was to blindly maneuver his numb limbs, using the walls for balance.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally made it to Misty's room, where he spotted Azurill shivering and crying softly under the top blanket of her bed. When Azurill saw the professor, she gave a cry of relief and bounced on her orb-like tail into his arms. Despite Azurill's small size, the impact was enough to cause the professor to collapse to the floor.

Professor Oak leaned back against the wall as he wrapped his arms around Azurill, attempting to sooth the frightened baby Pokémon.

"It'll be alright, Azurill," assured Oak, as he looked towards the window of the bedroom. Dawn was just breaking and a long beam of light from the early morning sun began the slow process of lighting up the room.

Oak knew he had no time to lose. It was obvious that Misty had been kidnapped. He didn't know what these people wanted with Misty, but he knew that the quicker he found her, the better.

Oak turned his attention back to the crying Pokémon in his lap.

"Azurill, did these people leave anything? A note or perhaps they dropped something? Anything at all?"

Azurill looked up at the old man, her eyes brimming with tears.

"'rill!" she cried, as she leapt from his arms and jumped up on Misty's desk. She grabbed a piece of paper from on top of the desk with her mouth and bounced back to the professor.

"Thank you," said the professor, as he shakily accepted the note from Azurill. His limbs were still not adjusted to movements yet, much to the professor's frustration, but with a double hit of a Stun Spore and Sleep Powder attack from a short distance, he wasn't expecting his limbs to cooperate for a while.

He opened the note to find that it was typed; which lead the professor to believe that this was a carefully planned out operation. An ill planned operation would not have cared if the note was typed or not, if they even thought to leave a note at all.

What he read was no help to him when it came to clues to find Misty, but rather it caused the professor to become even more frightened for Misty. The note read:

**We got this place bugged. Call the cops and the girl dies. **

The note confirmed the professor's fears; the villains did indeed have the gym bugged. He had a feeling before when he realized that the alarms from the gym's top notch security system went unfazed. While it was a possibility that the crooks were lying, Oak had a feeling that they weren't and even if they were, risking Misty's life was not worth it.

It was confirmed, then; if the professor was going to rescue Misty, he was going to have to do it alone.

But, why kidnap her? That was what really seemed to puzzle the old man. It was a tempting situation for any crook: a world renowned Pokémon expert was staying in one of the greatest Water Pokémon facilities in Kanto, along with one of the best Water Type leaders in the world of Pokémon. He had his personal team of Pokémon here with him, and Misty had dozens of rare and valuable Water Pokémon. He himself held incredibly important and top secret information concerning the world of Pokémon; he'd been kidnapped plenty of times because of the secrets he held and the Pokémon he owned. But, the kidnappers didn't take him or any Pokémon, just Misty. _Why?_

"_Now isn't the time to think about the 'why's' and the 'why not's' Sammie," _thought Oak to himself, _"Now is the time to go rescue Misty. And fast."_

Determination surged through Oak as he began the slow and shaky process of standing to his feet. His head was starting to spin again, but he ignored it. He was going to save Misty no matter what. He wasn't going to lose her too.

When he got to his feet, he looked down at Azurill, who was sitting on her tail looking expectantly at the old man.

"Azurill," began Oak, "I need you to return back into your Poke' Ball until I return, do you understand? I'm taking my team to go find Misty and I'll leave the place heavily guarded, so you'll be safe."

Azurill's anxious look quickly turned to one of indignity. "Azurill!"

Oak sighed. He knew that this wasn't going to be easy.

"Look, Azurill, there isn't any time to argue about it, just please listen to me. I really need someone to stay at the gym in case Misty comes back."

Giving the young mouse type Pokémon a job seemed to do the trick. Azurill took on her new role of waiting at the gym for Misty with quick determination. With a cry of acceptance of her new role, she returned herself in a flash of red light into the Poke' Ball on Misty's desk.

With the dreadful knowledge that time was ticking, Oak began to prepare for his rescue attempt. He changed as quickly as he could, as the effects of the two attacks from that night were reluctant to leave him, which also led him to the conclusion that these kidnappers possessed some strong Pokémon. That didn't concern him too much; he had his team and knew of the powers they possessed. And he himself was a very skilled Trainer back in his youth. He still kept and trained a team of his personal Pokémon, a fact that not many knew about him.

He tucked all six Poke' Balls about the belt of his waist and shouldered his backpack and began the process of securing the gym. After quickly briefing the Water Pokémon of what had occurred and explaining his plan, he returned all but a few of the stronger Pokémon to defend the gym in case of another attack.

Oak went out into the snow clad area behind the gym. The sun was nearly fully raised and all was silent besides his rugged breathing from him rushing to complete the prior tasks in his drug-like state and the sound of his boot-clad feet sinking in the snow. His breath appeared in the form of a small mist-like cloud before him in the chilly, still air. Once he felt like there was no chance of being spotted, he took out a small red and white sphere from his waist and enlarged it to the size of a baseball with a click of the button on it. He tossed it and it opened in midair, a white light bursting forth and taking the shape of a large, dragon-like creature. Once the light faded and the Poke' Ball was once again in Oak's hand, the creature was revealed to be the rare Pokémon, Dragonite.

The beast stood over seven feet tall and had large, bat-like wings and a massive tail and claws. A pair of cream colored antennas was on her head, and her under belly was of the same cream color. The rest of the creature's body was of a light orange and the inside of her wings were of an ocean blue, which matched her large, kind eyes. Dragonite looked to at the professor in puzzlement.

Oak placed the now smaller Poke' Ball back at his waist and walked up to the massive beast, which gently place its head underneath the professor's outstretched hand. Her eyes seemed to bore through his.

"Misty has been kidnapped," Oak managed to say. His voice cracked some and his throat tightened.

_Misty. _

"We have to find her."

Oak felt his entire being begin to vibrate, including Dragonite and the ground beneath him. The sensation, however, caused him no alarm; he recognized the feeling as Dragonite humming back her response. She was ready to help.

The old gentleman stepped back as Dragonite extended her wings and lowered herself so he could place himself on her back. As soon as he got himself situated, Dragonite snorted and crouched down, cracking the snow and the hard ground beneath them. Oak clutched on to her trunk-like neck as she shot upwards, the icy wind whipping past them and the beating of her wings making every muscle of the magnificent beast's body ripple under him. They were soon looking over the tops of the trees, the of the houses, then of the whole town, then pretty soon, just a black speck under them showed where Cerulean City was still sleeping, with traces of smoke rising from the chimneys below.

While Oak was shivering uncontrollable from the intense cold, his fierce determination quickly replaced any thoughts of a new plan.

One way or another, he was going to find Misty. He was going to save her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end of Ch. 9

Professor Oak is one determined old guy, ain't he? Thank you, reviewers, for the feedback and I look forward to hearing from you again.

Until chapter 10!

~MastermindMedley10


	10. Girl Interrupted

Heheh…so…uh…hi? OK, so I took forever and a day to update, but it's up now, right? You guys forgive me, right? Please don't hate me too bad-I have a life, you know…Well, Chapter 10 is up and now we get to see what's up with the bad guys. There is a lot of conversation in this chapter. Warning: A lot of mature themes are mentioned, but not described, so just a heads up. Also, you guys are about to get face planted with old school Pokémon goodness. Enjoy!~

Ch. 10: Girl Interrupted 

Misty opened her heavy laden eyes and attempted to lift her head off the cold, stone hard floor.

Her eyes shot opened when she realized that a bandana was stuffed in her mouth. Instinct made her panic as she remembered the events that had occurred prior. She attempted to scream and get up, but found as she could do neither with her mouth full of cloth and her ankles and wrists tied.

She blinked as hot tears filled her eyes. She was so cold and scared.

A low chuckle from across the dim metal room caused the blood in her body turn to ice in her already cold-numbed body.

Her heart beats turned more and more frantic as the large figure lumbered over to where she lay. Misty managed a dry swallow; it was the larger and more frightening member of her captors. Instinct made her attempt to gag at the heavy, smoky smell of the large man, but it was pointless with the bandana in her mouth and only made her stomach feel queasy.

The large man grabbed her by the pajama collar and set her in a worn business chair with wheels with little effort. The smaller of her two kidnappers, whom Misty had just noticed, came over with rope and a large grin on his rat face, setting to work to tie her to the chair.

Misty did not attempt to fight off either of the two; she was paralyzed with cold and fear and her gut feeling was telling her that these two were not the typical bad guys she was used to dealing with.

With one final, unnecessary tight squeeze on the rope, Misty was fixed to the chair. The larger man walked over to her slowly, lighting a cigarette, his steps echoing off the metal floor. The other man had walked over and turned on a single rickety light bulb that was suspended from the ceiling by a cord. The light, though dim, was the brightest thing that Misty had seen in hours. She blinked a few times, her eyes aching.

The room she was in was similar to some sort of basement or even a small loading station for trucks, judging by all the cardboard boxes and tools that were scattered about. There were also a few metal filing cabinets attached to the walls.

The large man came up to her, snatching the bandana out of her mouth roughly.

She flinched, though more out of fear than pain.

"W-what do you want with me?" she asked. Her heart sank; she sounded so terrified.

The rat faced man gave a high pitched cackle and the large man took a drag of his cigarette, smirking.

"I don't believe that you're in the position to be askin' questions, lil' lady," he responded, blowing smoke straight into her face. Misty coughed and tried to resist the urge to vomit.

The large man took a step back and began to circle her, eyeing her like a piece of meat that he wasn't too sure of.

"She's not much, is she Stu?" grinned the small man, who was lurking a few steps back from them.

Stu took another drag. "Nope. She's not, Ty. But, the old nut case likes her and anything to get to him is what we're gonna do." He paused and looked menacingly at Misty, they're eyes meeting. "And I mean _anything_."

He took another drag as Misty shivered at his response. She didn't know what it meant, but it could only be bad, if not pure evil.

Stu blew out some more smoke, his other hand stroking his thick neck.

Misty ran her tongue over her chapped lips. "What do you want with the professor?"

Stu and Ty exchanged looks before both letting out a bark of laughter. Stu turned back to her, tapping away some of the ash off his cigarette on the edge of her chair.

"What did I jus' say about askin' questions?" he said, bringing the stick back up to his lips. He gave a smirk. "I'll tell you, though, since you're bein' all cooperative." He took another drag and walked another half circle around her before pausing and looking over at his partner.

"Where exactly do we start with all this, Ty?"

Ty snorted and came closer, still grinning like a maniac. "Start with the obvious, of course! The better question, girly, is what mastermind _doesn't _want the old man? As idle-minded as he is, he processes key information that can destroy the entire Pokémon world if he so desired."

Misty gasped. "You're not-"

"Now you're interruptin'!" snapped Stu, waving away a cloud of smoke that had formed before his face. "What's the matter with you, kid? You stupid or somethin'?"

Ty placed his pointed face right before Misty's, inches from it. Misty felt her breathing momentarily stop.

"No, stupid girl," Ty sneered, his smile replaced with a sharp look of irritation. "Bottom-line is this guy has a lot of knowledge that can affect nearly every field in the Pokémon world; political, scientific, social, psychological, academia-you name it. Just enough, even a tiny bit, can tip the scales in a person or organizations' favor. Even more info could make that person or organization very successful. A bit more knowledge, and that person or organization could be the most powerful being in the entire Pokémon world, if not even running this whole show. Are you seeing where I'm going with this, or do I need to draw a map?"

Misty swallowed hard and nodded.

Ty's tight evil smile returned as he stepped back, crossing his arms in satisfaction. "Good. And let me let you in on a little secret: Stu and I have a Cubone to pick with ol' Oak."

At that, Stu gave a low growl and cracked his meaty knuckles. The sound sent shivers up Misty's spine.

"W-why?" asked Misty softly, her lips trembling.

"Oakey and us go way back, don't we Stu?" said Ty.

Stu grunted, jerking his cigarette back up his mouth.

"Started when we were ten," Ty continued. "We both went in for our first Pokémon. Neither of us were from Pallet Town, but everyone knows the ol' professor. I got Squirtle and Stu here got Charmander. We actually didn't go real far in our journey. I was forced to quit after badge six. What was it for you, Stu? The third?"

"_Fourth_." The large man grunted again, nursing his cigarette.

Ty snapped his fingers in recognition. "That's right! It was your fourth! Anyways, know why we were forced to quit? Well, I tell you: Oak. Apparently, the old guy heard about our method of training and went to see for himself. Stu and I bumped into him at a small town we were staying in order to prepare for our next gym badge. We had no idea why he was there and we never knew until after he left an Officer Jenny took us in for Pokémon abuse charges. Turns out he was spying on us. In those days, such charges meant not only turning in your Trainer license, but also the first Pokémon that we had received from the professor. That was our only punishment since we were minors. We were allowed to keep our badges and the Pokémon we had caught. We could even reapply to be Trainers again later. But, we weren't interested in reapplying. Journeyin' weren't for us, was it Stu?"

"Nope."

"But we were pretty good at battling and training our Pokémon. Even before we lost our licenses', Trainers with eight badges were no match for us, isn't that right, Stu?"

"Right."

"So, we kept training and battling. And we may not seem like much to you, but we're both actually pretty smart. Smart enough to start working at Celadon U as teacher's flunky's and enter as students a few years later. You know 'bout CU, right? Ol' Oakey worked there for years. He was working part-time with some big name researchers. He never said anything, but I knew he didn't like us working there. Never wanted us to do anything for him and was always locking his classroom and office doors. Always suspicious. Anyways, we got to work closely with a guy named Williams. Man was a genius. He wanted to create the ultimate Pokémon race. To do that, though, meant creating the ultimate Pokémon to begin with. He slowly began hatching plans, making connections and biding his time. That's when Oak and his team discovered the fossil of Mew. They planned to recreate Mew, who was said to be the most powerful Pokémon that had ever existed. Williams wanted to make something more than Mew. I mean, how powerful was Mew, really, if it had died out? Williams wanted the fossil in order to use it for his new and improved creation. However, he needed a team. Sure, Stu and I were on board, and a couple of other researchers, but none were familiar in the area of cloning. And he needed more resources, more research attention from some powerful people. He turned his attention to Oak's team, which was full of all sorts of highly educated and skilled individuals. No, he never had the intention of gaining Oak for his side; he'd tried years earlier to get Oak to see his ways and join him, but Oak wouldn't hear it. Thought his idea would be an end to the Pokémon race as we know it. In a sense, he was right; why keep the Pokémon we have now if there was a new race that was indestructible? This new race would open up more possibilities for mankind to succeed like never before. But, after a while, Williams began focusing his attention on a man by the name of Fuji. He served as a fossil revitalizing and bio-chemical expert. He was a straight arrow like Oak, but Williams figured he could be swayed. He went to him repeatedly, but his offer to be on his team was always denied. This infuriated Williams; he needed Fuji more than any other team member of Oak's. Fuji was even more world renown than Oak in his field. He had been able to revitalize extinct Pokémon before, but only for very brief periods of time before they died. Everyone knew that he was on the verge of making the revitalization fully successful and was working overtime to improve his research before attempting to bring Mew back to life. Fuji never actually approved of cloning while on Oak's team for moral reasons. What he was working on was to bring actual Pokémon species back to life, not make cloned copies. So, Williams figured that if he couldn't convince Fuji of the need of cloning, maybe he could show him. He looked and saw what was most important to Fuji, which turned out to be his family. He had a wife and young daughter, Amber. Williams made his plan with us and we made it happen."

"What did you do?" whispered Misty, though the sick feeling in her stomach had already made her guess.

"Killed the girl!" said Stu loudly, his voice vibrating off the walls as he threw his cigarette butt to the ground, smashing it with the toe of his boot.

Misty gasped, her mouth trying to form the shape to scream, but no sound came out.

She was in a room with two men who had murdered a little girl.

Ty sneered. "Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy, sugar! All for the sake of science, right?"

Misty was still speechless.

To emphasize his point, the thin man lifted and extended his arms out, rolling his eyes like a poor actor. "One life for many, I say. We made it look like an accident; a hit and run on a bad stormy evening. The plan worked though, and Williams was a genius for thinkin' it. It wasn't a week after the funeral that Fuji was in Williams' lab asking to join the team on the condition that he could clone his daughter. Williams agreed and the two started working together almost immediately. They built a team even better than Williams could do single-handedly and Fuji even helped to get the two more support from Team Rocket. With some more scheming, they were able to take over Oak's team and take the Mew fossil."

Stu grinned, eyeing Misty. "Didn't think Giovanni was up to somethin' big like that, huh?"

Ty continued. "Well, Williams was already involved some, but with Fuji as the head scientist, support came from Rocket Headquarters with no problems. Obviously, Fuji failed to clone his kid and there were several failed attempts at cloning Pokémon, but they had finally succeeded at cloning Mewtwo."

"Not only that, but they brought the thing up to adulthood," Stu added.

Ty nodded. "Right. A huge success. Everyone knew Fuji would try again at cloning his daughter, as cloning was proving to be a much easier, faster and a higher success rate than his previous method, but he never got the chance to. When Mewtwo was fully functioning adult, he destroyed the lab where everyone worked, killing everyone, including Fuji and Williams. Stu and I weren't there, as we were on a short Team Rocket mission." Ty paused briefly. "Giovanni found the Pokémon and the project went to him and the Team Rocket corporation. He's gotten new people to replace those who had died at the lab, like Namba for example. They have some of the files from the project, but not much, since most of it was destroyed in the explosion. Mewtwo also didn't stay with the team long. Rocket has worked at creating ways to make powerful Pokémon; PPAP, which makes ill Pokémon evolve faster; special Poke' Balls that make the captured Pokémon more powerful; headgears that make a Pokémon wearing it more powerful-you name it."

"What does all this have to do with Professor Oak?" shouted Misty, a stray tear running down her face. She gritted her teeth in anger-_how dare these men. _

In two long steps, Stu was in her face, glaring at her.

"_Everything_," he snarled. "That guy holds a lot of missing pieces of the puzzle. And every time Team Rocket gets him where they want him, we miss. I'm not sure how, but they do. Which is why the Boss hired us; because we'll do _anything _to get a chunk of this pie."

Ty crossed his arms.

"_Anything_," he repeated.

Stu shoved the chair Misty was bound to back, causing her to hit the wall. The large man made a noise of frustration.

"We've wanted to get that guy for _years!_" he shouted, knocking over a cardboard box in his rant. "And the last time, I was sure we had him! But, _no! _It was that granddaughter of his driving his car!"

Misty blinked, the whole universe seeming to freeze.

_What?_

Stu jerked his head back towards her. "You heard me-his _granddaughter! _We were following the wrong person! The plan was to follow Oak, get him to pull over somewhere discreet and we take him from there and get him to talk. When we saw it was his grandkid we knew we had to get rid of her."

"And we did," finished Ty, looking smug.

Misty had seemed to have lost her ability to breathe. The room was spinning and she felt so very nauseous. A million thoughts flew through her mind, but none seemed to stick. Everything didn't make sense, but in some sick, twisted way, it did. They were never able to find the driver of the other vehicle. Police assumed it was some drunk driver that fled the scene before cops could show up to the remote location. It looked like a hit and run.

Just like with Amber.

Stu came over, his eyes wide with glee. "But, now we have you. We wanted to get Oak at his lab, but having you invite him to your place was much better. You came up with an excuse for him and everything."

Misty felt the bottom of her stomach drop: they had bugged his and her home.

The large man placed his hands on her thin shoulders, his face no more than an inch from hers. He gave a wide, toothy grin.

"Taking him meant leaving you and we can't afford any witnesses. Leaving a clean get away in order to kidnap you and having him come to us only covers our trail. We're home free and nobody can do anything about it. We get him and discard you after your use. We would make it look like an accident, or course. And with Oak already out of the public eye, no one would think to look for him for a long time. And even then, they would just say that the grieving grandfather moved someplace else."

"_Guess again!"_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end of chapter 10_

Whoa! Pokémon nostalgia smack! For those who are unfamiliar with Dr. Fuji and the Mew project and all these other references, you need to play Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow (the old games, not any of the remakes, which are great, but you don't really see much of what I'm talking about here), watch the first Pokémon movie and YouTube "The Birth of Mewtwo" which is the story behind the first movie. I added a lot of details (like Stu, Ty and Dr. Williams), but you guys get the idea. And what about the bad guys? Not your typical Team Rocket Grunts, huh? R&R please!

Until you read again!

~MastemindMedley10


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